Sociology

Sociology

The scientific study of people in groups. Eg. ethnic groups and social media
1. Functionalism believes that society is best studied as an organic system, like the body
2. Conflict School believes that the most important characteristics is humanity's ability to produce goods to meet their needs
Theories/Theorists on Social Development
1. Sigmund Freud believed that the unconscious mind is the main idea behind personality development. Thru the process of socialization the ego and superego develop in order to control the basic drives and instincts of the id
2. Jean Piaget looked at how kids learn (cognitive development) influenced by social and psychological factors. It's a 4 stage process, firstly Sensorimotor (direct experience e.g. touch) then Pre-operational (experience world thru mental communication), then Concrete operational stage (complex operations e.g arithmetic) lastly Formal operational stage (manipulate ideas without the need of physical objects.
3. Charles Cooley thought that in a process similar to socialization we develop our identity. He explained this theory by using the image of a looking glass, the reactions of others are like mirrors that show us who we are. We react to this perception with feelings such as pride/embarrassment resulting with us developing a set of beliefs about ourselves.
4. George Herbert Mead believed that the self develops thru social interaction with others. Stage 1 (Preparatory) is when children imitate the behaviour of people around them e.g parents. Stage 2 (Play) when children act out the roles of adults e.g doctors. Stage 3 (Game) discover rules and roles within a team.
5. Abraham Maslow believes that we're motivated by our unconscious mind to behave a certain way. We need to meet our needs on the lower hierarchy before we can go higher on the pyramid.
6. Erik Erikson said that the development of self is a life long process. Throughout an individual's life they're given challenges to complete and move onto another
Socializaton
1. A lifelong process in which we learn all the knowledge, skills, and attitudes we need to survive in society.
  1. Secondary
    1. Learning how to function in groups, and how to follow behaviours society expects of us
  2. Anticipatory
    1. Used to describe the ability we develop to think ahead of time and act accordingly
  3. Resocialization
    1. A deliberate attempt by society to replace aspects of an individual's socialization with new learnings
2. Agents of Socialization
  1. individuals and organizations involved in this process
  2. Family
    1. Foundation of our personality developments, taught gender roles. Learn about personal qualities e.g love, trust
  3. School
    1. First agent to make us deal with formal rules
      1. Manifest function - teach us the academic skills we need to prosper
      2. Latent Function - socialize us to understand and cooperate with strangers
  4. Peer groups
    1. Gives youth a chance to do and talk about things they cannot talk about with family e.g drugs, sex
  5. Media
    1. Advertisements reinforce gender roles about what society thinks is acceptable for girls/boys. Presents a unrealistic image of life
  6. Religion
    1. Focuses on the afterlife and moral questions e.g Have i lived a good life?
3. Stage theories of socialization break down the human process of becoming complete selves into human process of becoming complete selves into stages that individuals must pass through
Famous Sociologists
1. Auguste Comte the first person to study Sociology, founder of the term "Sociology". Used scientific methods to study society. Observes societies change over time and tries to identify the factors that lead to change
  1. Society States - the study of society's customs, institutions, and laws and interactions
  2. Social dynamics - the stages through which society must go through to experience change
2. Emile Duckherm founder of modern sociology, focused on the change nature of society. Identified 3 types of suicide (Egotistic, Polturistic, Anomic)
3. Karl Marx was a german scholar, witnessed social change through the industrial evolution. Determined that the struggle for power and wealth is the driving force behind society.
4. Max Weber a german sociologist, believed Marx's theory placed too much emphasis on economic power and ignored the growing middle class. He argued that religion, education, politics and family structure make up of a persons values.
Nature vs. Nurture
1. Focuses on whether nature (a person's biological characteristics) or nurture (learned and environmental factors) impact a person's personality, understanding of themselves, sexual orientation, gender roles, etc.
Group Behaviour
1. Soloman Asch (Conformity) - Found that majority will agree with a group of people not because we think they are right but because we want to be accepted by the group, we are less likely to disagree with anyone.
2. Stanley Milgram (obedience) - This experiment showed how much social situations can influence people's behaviour. Results found were that even when manipulating many diff experimental variables, people were still obedient
3. Philip Zimbardo (influence of the situation) - Wanted to see how ordinary men chosen to be the most healthy and "normal" would respond to a radical change to their normal roles in life. Found that some indiviuals are willing to take risks whereas others are too used to their lifestyles
Bystander Effect
1. When someone near a crime or bullying scene has witnessed it happened but does nothing to help.
  1. Eg. Kitty Genovese walking through the street at night, somebody stabbing her repeatedly, people observed from the apartments but did nothing, which resulted in her death.
Cults and the Power of Cults
1. FLDS - forced child marriages, abuse/rape of underage girls. Resulted in going to prison for 2 felony charges on child sexual assault
2. People's Temple - Forced confessions and beating of kids, public embarrassment, people working unrealistic hours. Resulted in leader, Jim Jones shooting himself
3. Aum Shinrikyo - Released poison gas in Tokyo subway, wanted to become Emperor of Japan. Resulted in death from hanging.
4. The Family - Used drugs on his followers, used girls to get men to join the cult, murdered randoms. Resulted in Charles Manson, being sent to prison for life.
Social Power
1. Some people have "more power" others have less. Sometimes it's equally distributed or completely unequal.
Total Institutions
1. Formal System
  1. Run by the government correctional courts, have specific steps & procedures that are written up. Offender is arrested by police, court proceeding to determine if guilty, then sent to correctional agencies.
    1. Eg. Criminal System
2. Informal System
  1. Impersonal and functions independently from society, own set of rules, winner takes all attitude.
    1. Eg. Community groups
Family, Love, & Marriage
1. Monogamy - a person can have 1 wife/husband at a time
2. Polygamy - a person can marry 2 or more people at a time
  1. a man can marry 2 or more women
  2. a women can marry 2 or more men
  3. Low rate of divorce, more people to share chores with. Jealousy, less focus on romance more on economics
3. Triangular Theory of Love (Robert Sternberg)
  1. 1) Intimacy - feeling of closeness, connections, and bondedness
    1. 2) Passion - drives that lead to romance
      1. 3) Commitment - being loyal, serious

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