Table of Contents

Week 1 Introduction to Sociology and Methodology ............................................................................ 2 Defining Sociology ................................................................................................................................ 2 Conducting Research ........................................................................................................................... 2 Week 2 History of Sociology and Theoretical Perspectives ................................................................... 6 A Brief History of Sociology .................................................................................................................. 6 Theoretical Perspectives .................................................................................................................... 10 Week 3 Components of Culture & Society, Social Structure and Socialization ................................... 12 Components of Culture & Society ...................................................................................................... 12 Cultural Unity and Diversity ............................................................................................................... 13 Social Structure .................................................................................................................................. 13 Foundations of Socialization .............................................................................................................. 14 Week 4 Social Groups & Organization and Deviance .......................................................................... 17 Social Groups and Formal Organizations ........................................................................................... 17 Deviance and Crime ........................................................................................................................... 19 Week 5 Social Stratification ................................................................................................................. 22 Patterns of Social Stratification .......................................................................................................... 22 The American Class System ................................................................................................................ 23 Social Mobility .................................................................................................................................... 24 Explanations of Social Stratification ................................................................................................... 25 Week 6 Race, Ethnic and Gender Inequality ....................................................................................... 26 Racial and Ethnic Stratification .......................................................................................................... 26 Gender Inequality .............................................................................................................................. 29 Week 7 Social Change .......................................................................................................................... 31 A World of Change ............................................................................................................................. 31 Collective Behavior............................................................................................................................. 32 Social Movements .............................................................................................................................. 33 Week 8 Political and Economic Power ................................................................................................ 35 Power, Authority and the State ......................................................................................................... 35 Legitimacy and Authority ................................................................................................................... 35 Political Power ................................................................................................................................... 36 Economic Power................................................................................................................................. 37 The Power of Corporations ................................................................................................................ 37

Week 1 Introduction to Sociology and Methodology

Defining Sociology
Each of us is a social being. We are born into a social environment; we fully develop into human beings in a social environment; and we typically live out our lives in a social environment. What we think, feel, say and do is shaped by our interactions with other people. Sociology is the scientific study of these social interactions and of social organizations. Sociology is a powerful scientific tool both for acquiring knowledge about ourselves and for intervening in social affairs to realize various goals. A basic premise underlying sociology is the notion that only by understanding the society in which we live can we gain a fuller insight into our lives. This quality of the discipline is called the sociological imagination or the ability to see our private experiences, personal difficulties, and achievements as, in part, a reflection of the structural arrangements of society and the times in which we live. Microsociology entails the detailed study of what people say, do, and think moment by moment as they go about their daily lives. It deals with everyday life. Sociologists also turn an investigative eye upon the bigger picture and study social groups and societies. This is called macrosociology which focuses on large-scale and long-term social processes of organizations, institutions, and broad social patterns, including the state, social class, the family, the economy, culture and society.

Conducting Research
How does a sociologist collect data? Social scientists look for relationships among variables. A variable is a concept that can take on different values. An independent variable is one that causes an effect. A dependent variable is the variable that is affected. The independent (causal) variable proceeds in time the phenomenon it causes (dependent variable). In their research, the sociologist will attempt to predict the relationship they will find between the independent and dependent variable. Such a statement is known as a hypothesis or a proposition that can then be tested to determine its validity. Experiments In an experiment, researchers work with two groups that are made to be identical in all relevant respects through a process of random assignment. Researchers introduce a change in one groupthe experimental groupbut not in the other groupthe control group. The 2

two groups are identical except for the factor that the researchers introduce in the experimental group. Surveys Survey data is collected in one of two ways. Researchers interview people by reading them questions from a prepared questionnaire or people can receive a questionnaire in the mail, fill it out, and return it by mail. Self-reports are the source of data. Sociologists typically employ either a random sample or a stratified random sample in their research. In the random sample, the sociologists select subjects on the basis of chance so that every individual in the population has the same opportunity to be chosen. A stratified random sample provides greater precision. Researchers divide the population into relevant categories such as age, race, gender, income, etc., and draw a random sample from each of the categories. Observation Observation becomes a scientific technique when it: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Serves a clear research objective Is undertaken in a systematic rather than haphazard manner Is carefully recorded Is related to a broader body of sociological knowledge and theory Is subjected to the same checks and controls applied to all types of scientific evidence

Sociologists typically observe people in one of two ways: Unobtrusive observation is when they observe the activities of people without intruding or participating in the activities. Participant observation is when sociologists engage in activities with the people that they are studying.

Ethnography is a methodological strategy used to provide descriptions of human societies, which as a methodology does not prescribe any particular method (e.g. observation, interview, questionnaire), but instead prescribes the nature of the study (i.e. to describe people through writing). IN-CLASS QUESTION: What do you observe when walking down Ledra Street? Comparative and Historical Research Archival research refers to the use of existing records that have been produced or maintained by persons or organizations other than the researcher. Census data, government 3

statistics, newspaper reports, books, magazines, personal letters, speeches, folklore, court records, works of art and the research data of other social scientists are all sources of archival research. Steps in the Scientific Method: A Close-Up Look 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Selecting a Researchable Problem Reviewing the Literature Formulating a Hypothesis Choosing a Research Design Collecting the Data Analyzing the Data Stating Conclusions

Researching Ethics Though scientific research on human beings is potentially valuable and important, it also can be dangerous and harmful to the people who are studied. As a result of this, sociologists have become increasingly sensitive and committed to ethical considerations in their research. The American Sociological Associations, for instance, has provided a code of ethics to govern the behavior of its members. It includes the following principles: Principle A: Professional Competence Sociologists strive to maintain the highest levels of competence in their work; they recognize the limitations of their expertise; and they undertake only those tasks for which they are qualified by education, training, or experience. They recognize the need for ongoing education in order to remain professionally competent; and they utilize the appropriate scientific, professional, technical, and administrative resources needed to ensure competence in their professional activities. They consult with other professionals when necessary for the benefit of their students, research participants, and clients. Principle B: Integrity Sociologists are honest, fair, and respectful of others in their professional activitiesin research, teaching, practice, and service. Sociologists do not knowingly act in ways that jeopardize either their own or others' professional welfare. Sociologists conduct their affairs in ways that inspire trust and confidence; they do not knowingly make statements that are false, misleading, or deceptive.

Principle C: Professional and Scientific Responsibility Sociologists adhere to the highest scientific and professional standards and accept responsibility for their work. Sociologists understand that they form a community and show respect for other sociologists even when they disagree on theoretical, methodological, or personal approaches to professional activities. Sociologists value the public trust in sociology and are concerned about their ethical behavior and that of other sociologists that might compromise that trust. While endeavoring always to be collegial, sociologists must never let the desire to be collegial outweigh their shared responsibility for ethical behavior. When appropriate, they consult with colleagues in order to prevent or avoid unethical conduct. Principle D: Respect for People's Rights, Dignity, and Diversity Sociologists respect the rights, dignity, and worth of all people. They strive to eliminate bias in their professional activities, and they do not tolerate any forms of discrimination based on age; gender; race; ethnicity; national origin; religion; sexual orientation; disability; health conditions; or marital, domestic, or parental status. They are sensitive to cultural, individual, and role differences in serving, teaching, and studying groups of people with distinctive characteristics. In all of their work-related activities, sociologists acknowledge the rights of others to hold values, attitudes, and opinions that differ from their own. Principle E: Social Responsibility Sociologists are aware of their professional and scientific responsibility to the communities and societies in which they live and work. They apply and make public their knowledge in order to contribute to the public good. When undertaking research, they strive to advance the science of sociology and to serve the public good.

Week 2 History of Sociology and Theoretical Perspectives

A Brief History of Sociology
Auguste Comte (1798-1857) Comte is considered the founder of sociology. Emphasized that the study of society must be scientific and urged sociologists to use systematic observation, experimentation and comparative historical analysis. Divided the study of society into Social Statics and Social Dynamics. A. Social Statics deals with aspects of social life related to order, stability and social organization that allow societies and groups to hold together and endure. B. Social Dynamics refers to the processes of social life that pattern institutional development and have to do with social change. Established the intellectual foundation for the discipline. Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) Published the first book on the methodology of social research, How to Observe Manners and Morals (1838). Undertook important comparative studies on stratification systems in the United States and England. Ardent defender of womens rights. Compared the position of women in Western societies to that of the American slaves. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) Compared society to a biological organism and depicted it as a system made up of interrelated parts. As the human body is made of organs, society is made up of institutions. Focused heavily on societys structures and the functional contributions these structures make to its survival. Birth of the structural-functional theory. Proposed an evolutionary theory of historical development, one depicting the world as growing progressively better. 6

Applied the concept of survival of the fittest to the social world Social Darwinism. Sought to demonstrate that government should not interfere with the natural processes going on in society. People and social patterns that were fit would survive and those that were unfit would die out. Most of his research was done at the height of laissez-faire capitalism. Individualism Competition Nonintervention

Karl Marx (1818-1883) Science also as a tool to transform society. He wanted to change the structure of capitalist institutions and to establish new ones in the service of humanity. Focused his research on economic environments in which societies develop, emphasizing the current state of their technology and their method of organizing production. At each stage of history, these factors will determine the group that will dominate society and the groups that will be the servants. Class conflict arises within a society between those who own the means of production and those who do not. Means of production & wealth vs. labor. Dialectical materialism the idea that development depends on the clash of contradictions and the subsequent creation of new, more advanced structures. The world is not made up of static structures but of dynamic processes. In Marxs view of history, every economic order grows to a state of maximum efficiency; at the same time, it develops internal contradictions or weaknesses that contribute to its decay. The roots of a new order begin to take hold of the old order. Slavery Feudalism Capitalism Socialism Communism Political ideologies, religion, family organization, education and government make up what he called the superstructure. This is strongly influenced by the economic base of society when one class controls the means of production, it determines the other aspects of institutional life to suit its interests. Some aspects of the superstructure could however influence the economic base and modify it revolutionary ideology among the working class leading to mobilization! Emile Durkheim (1858-1916)

Criticized Marxs work saying that: 1) Marx put too much emphasis on economic factors and class struggle and not enough to social solidarity, and; 2) Marx did not recognize the capacity of modern society to reform itself. Social integration refers to the density of social relationships or the number of relationships that exist among a collection of people. Social integration is necessary for the maintenance of the social order and for the happiness of individuals. Destruction of social bonds has negative consequences. Examples would be getting a divorce, breaking up, getting fired or laid off, exiled, etc. Wrote seminal work The Division of Labor in Society (1893) in which he examined social solidarity and distinguished between the types of solidarity found in early and modern societies. Mechanical Solidarity vs. Organic Solidarity Believed that the distinctive subject matter of sociology should be the study of Social Facts. These are aspects of social life that cannot be explained in terms of the biological or mental characteristics of the individual. Material Social Facts: society itself, its major institutions (the state, religion, family, education, etc.) and the various forms that underlie society (housing patterns, crime rate, population density, etc.) Nonmaterial Social Facts: Social rules, principles of morality, meanings of symbols and the shared consciousness resulting of these. Another seminal work Suicide (1897) collected and analyzed data on suicide. Study concluded that different suicide rates are the consequence of variations in social solidarity. Individuals linked to a web of social bonds are less inclined to suicide than individuals who are weakly integrated into group life. Max Weber (1864-1920) Believed that a critical focus for sociology is the study of human subjectivity: the intentions, values, beliefs and attitudes that underlie peoples behavior. Also developed the concept of the ideal type. This is a concept constructed by sociologists to portray the principal characteristics of something they want to study. It is a tool that allows sociologists to generalize and simplify data by ignoring minor differences in order to accentuate major similarities. A hotel, a hospital and a police department are not similar but they share attributes under the heading bureaucracy. If sociologists can determine through research the main traits of a bureaucracy then they can apply that definition to actual bureaucracies and see why some may deviate from the norm. 8

Value-free sociology means that sociologists must not allow their personal biases to affect the conduct of their scientific research. Need to see facts as they are and not as they might wish them to be. Sociology in the USA after World War I W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Studied racial inequalities and advocated radical changes to eliminate them. Also performed investigative fieldwork. During the 1930s, the Hull House, associated with the University of Chicago, was a settlement house set up in a poor neighborhood to provide services to the urban poor, particularly immigrants. Run by women, this group is credited with inventing research procedures of community case studies and of demographic mapping. Contemporary Sociology 1. Critical Theory Grew out of the dissatisfaction with Marxism. Criticized Marxism because they believed it denied the importance of culture by viewing it as a part of the superstructure. They argue that mass culture, something produced by a capitalist media industry, cannot be a true reflection of peoples tastes, beliefs, values, ideas and lifestyles. 2. Feminism This branch begins with the observation that women hardly appear in social theory and research. Feminism explicitly examines womens roles and experiences in society, working to fully uncover womens contributions to social life and the nature of the structures and processes that maintain gender inequality. Sociological feminism places a lot of emphasis on different forms of oppression, on how these forms intersect with gender and with each other, on the resulting diversity of experience, and on the implications such an orientation has for the elimination of all forms of exploitation and oppression. 3. Postmodernism Postmodernists are deeply distrustful of science and the principle of objectivity, arguing that scientific knowledge is as much a product of the socially determined interests and biases of investigators as it is of facts, which themselves are products of social processes. 9

According to postmodernists, we are entering an age dominated not by economics but by the production and dissemination of images and information through mass media and advanced computer technology. If societies are based on ever-changing signs, codes, and models presented in the media, they have no basic structure so the theories of Max, Durkheim and Weber cannot be used to explain them.

Theoretical Perspectives
A theoretical perspective provides a set of assumptions, interrelated concepts, and statements about how various social phenomena are related to one another. The Structural/Functional Perspective Society is a system, a set of elements or components that are related to one another in a more or less stable fashion through a period of time. Focus on major institutions such as the family, religion, the economy, the state and education. Tendency towards equilibrium or balance among its parts and among the forces operating on it. A change to one part subsequently means change and adaptation to the others. Particular attention is paid to the functions performed by the systems parts. For a system to survive, certain essential tasks must be performed. The observed consequences that lessen the adaptation or adjustment of a system are called dysfunctions. Poverty as an example. Manifest functions are those consequences that are intended and recognized by the participants whereas latent functions are those that are neither intended nor recognized. Functionalists agree that most members of society agree on what is desirable, worthwhile and morale, and what is undesirable, worthless and evil. Good theory to provide us with the big picture. However, this theory has difficulty dealing with history and processes of social change and disregards conflict, dissent and instability.

The Conflict Perspective Conflict theorists emphasize the processes of change that continually transform society with a particular focus on disorder and instability, interests that divide, and social unity as an illusion resting on coercion. The main source of conflict in human societies is scarcity of the resources people require. Power, the ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will, determines who will gain and who will lose. Society persists because no one conflict can become as great as to tear the society apart. Individuals might disagree in one area yet agree on another.

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Overall, though, conflict can be beneficial to society. See for instance the civil rights movement in the United States. This theory has difficulties dealing with aspects of consensus, integration and stability.

The Interactionist Perspective Concerned with micro or small-scale aspects of social life. Society is possible given the ability of human beings to communicate by means of symbols. A symbol is something that stands for something else, that something else being its meaning. Hence, social interaction is possible because people share meanings. This is called symbolic interactionism. Three core assumptions to this theory: o We respond to things in our environment on the basis of their meanings. o Meanings emerge from social interactions. o Because we are continually interacting, shared cultural meanings are continually emerging and changing. We experience the world as a constructed reality. Sociologists must get inside peoples heads and view the world as it is seen, interpreted, acted upon, and shaped by the people themselves. People creatively construct their actions in accordance with the meanings they attribute to the situation and therefore are likely to shape the social structure. Some of its limitations as a theory include: 1) the temptation to conclude that because social reality is constructed, there is no reality independent of social constructions, and; 2) in their everyday lives, people do not enjoy total flexibility in shaping their actions and sometimes the role of the structures is downplayed.
Functionalist Macro Set of interacting parts Consensus of shared beliefs and values Social order Understanding of social structure and stability Ineffective in dealing with social change Conflict Macro Set of competing interest groups Conflict, coercion and power Social conflict and change Uncovers historical processes that lead to social change Weak understanding of social consensus and stability

Level of Analysis Nature of Society Foundations of Social Interaction Focus of Study Advantages

Interactionist Micro Social reality that is created and recreated in social interaction Shared meanings Dynamic interplay between the individual and society Understanding of human beings as active agents in social life Difficulty dealing with social structure

Disadvantages

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Week 3 Components of Culture & Society, Social Structure and Socialization

Components of Culture & Society
Culture refers to the social heritage of a peoplethose learned patterns for thinking, feeling, and acting that are transmitted from one generation to the next, including the embodiment of these patters in material items. It includes both nonmaterial culture abstract creations like values, beliefs, symbols, norms, customs and institutional arrangementsand material culturephysical artifacts or objects like stone axes, computers, loin cloths, tuxedos, cars, paintings, electric guitars, etc. Society refers to a group of people who live within the same territory and share common culture. Simply put, culture has to do with the customs of a people whereas society has to do with the people who are practicing the customs. Main Components of Culture Norms are social rules that specify appropriate and inappropriate behavior in given situations. Most of these rules deal with matters involving sex, property and safety. Some norms called mores have greater importance to people and they mete out harsh punishment to violators. Attached with great moral significance. Murder, rape, treason, theft, etc. Other norms called folkways are deemed less important and they exact less stringent conformity to them. These are essentially customary ways and ordinary conventions by which people carry out their daily activities. No moral significance attached to folkways. Other norms (laws) are formalized and are enforced by special political organizations. These tend to be the result of conscious thought, deliberate planning and formal declaration. These can be changed more easily than folkways or more. Values are broad ideas regarding what is desirable, correct and good that most members of a society share. They are very general and provide us with criteria and conceptions by which we evaluate people, objects, and events as to their relative worth, merit, beauty or morality. For the American culture, some of the main values achievement and success, work and activity, efficiency and practicality, material comfort, individuality, progress, rationality, patriotism and democracy. IN-CLASS QUESTION: List as many values, norms, mores and folkways from your own culture! Symbols are acts or objects that have come to be socially accepted as standing for something else. They come to represent other things through the shared understandings people have.

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For instance, gestures are symbols. Also, flags, musical performances, paintings, religious icons, badges, etc. The most important symbol, though, is Language, a socially constructed system of sound patterns (words and sentences) with specific and arbitrary meanings. Cornerstone of every culture! Expressive symbolism: 1. A reflection of society. 2. Carries a code that allows people to recreate society from one day (and from one generation) to the next. 3. The form and content of culture is heavily affected by economic, organizational, legal and technological factors involved with its production. Social structure affects culture!

Cultural Unity and Diversity

Cultural Universals are patterned and recurrent aspects of life that appear in all known societies. There are cultural constants livelihood, socializing children, handling grief and dealing with deviants, among others. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Who can list a few more constants? Ethnocentrism judging the behavior of other groups by the standards of our own culture. Ones own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it. Can lead to all sorts of conflicts! Cultural Relativism is viewing the behavior of a people from the perspective of their own culture. One does not ask whether a particular trait is moral or immoral but what part it plays in the life of a people. Subcultures are groups with distinctive cultural patterns within a society. Can be based on religion, race, ethnicity, occupation and ages. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Can you give me examples of subcultures in your society? Counterculture is a subculture whose values, norms and lifestyles are substantially at odds with those of the larger society.

Social Structure
Social structure is the interweaving of peoples interactions and relationships in more or less recurrent and stable patterns. Gives us the impression that life is made up of organization and stability. However, these structures are always undergoing change and improvement. 13

Status means a position within a group or society. Ascribed statuses are statuses assigned to us by our group or by society. For example, age and gender. Those statuses we acquire on the basis of individual choice and competition are called achieved statuses. Master statuses are a key or core status that carries primary weight in a persons interactions and relationships with others. For example, age and gender. Each status carries with it a set of culturally defined rights and duties or roles. These expectations define the behavior people view as appropriate and inappropriate for the occupant of a status. The notion of role comes from the theater! Role performance is the actual behavior of the person who occupies a status. Some professors, for example, might be late, give little homework but difficult exams, etc., while others may act in an opposite way. A single status may have multiple roles attached to it, this would be a role set. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Please tell me your roles as students. Each role has at least one reciprocal role attached to it. Duties are the actions other people can legitimately insist that we perform, and rights are the actions we can legitimately insist that others perform. Role conflict results when individuals are confronted with conflicting expectations stemming from their simultaneous occupancy of two or more statuses. Role strain occurs when individuals find the expectations of a single role incompatible so that they have difficulty performing the role. Statuses and roles are building blocks for more comprehensive social structures such as groups. Groups are two or more people who are bound together in relatively stable patterns of social interaction and who share a feeling of unity. Institutions are the principal social structures that organize, direct and execute the essential tasks of living. Each institution is built about a standardized solution to a set of problems. Society Institution Group Role Status

Foundations of Socialization
Socialization is the process of social interaction by which people acquire the knowledge, attitudes, values and behaviors essential for effective participation in society. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Nature vs. Nurture? Theories of Socialization 14

A. Social Learning Theory a. We are socialized through positive (+) and negative (-) reinforcement by our parents, friends and society and that we observe and imitate socialized behavior around us. b. Conditioning Form of learning in which the consequences of behavior determine the probability of its future occurrence. Socialization occurs when a persons behavior is shaped by the reinforcing and punishing activities of other people and groups. c. Observational learning through observation, people may learn both a certain mode of behavior and that the behaviors may lead to rewards or punishment. B. Cognitive Development Theory a. Socialization depends on a persons ability to understand and interpret the world, something that happens in various stages. C. Symbolic Interactionism a. Actions through which people observe, interpret, evaluate, communicate with, and attempt to control themselves are crucial to socialization. This is called reflexive behavior. Main Agents of Socialization A. B. C. D. Family Friends & Peers Schools Mass Media

Communication refers to the process by which people transmit information, ideas, attitudes and mental states to one another and is made possible by the human ability to create complex symbol systems including language. Makes socialization possible! Types of Communication: A. Verbal B. Non-Verbal a. Body Language. b. Paralanguage voice pitch, volume, pacing, pauses, sighs. c. Proxemics Way we employ social and personal space. d. Touch e. Artifacts The formation of the selfthe set of concepts we use in defining who we areis key to the socialization process. Stages of Socialization A. Childhood a. Greatest development between the ages of 7 and 8! B. Adolescence a. Puberty Rites 15

C. Young Adulthood a. Higher Education D. Middle Adulthood a. 30 to 65 years old b. Revolve around love and work E. Later Adulthood a. Retiring b. Losing partner c. Preparing for death d. Loss of social roles F. Death Erik Eriksons Eight Stages of Development
Development Stage 1. 2. Infancy Psychosocial Crisis Basic trust vs. mistrust Autonomy vs. shame, doubt Predominant Social Setting Family Family Favorable Outcome Child develops trust in him, the parents and the world Child develops sense of selfcontrol without loss of selfesteem Child learns to acquire direction and purpose in activities Child acquires a sense of mastery and competence Individual develops an ego identitycoherent sense of self Individual develops capacity to work toward a career and to involve himself in an extended intimate relationship Individual becomes concerned with other beyond immediate family Individual acquires a sense of satisfaction looking back upon his or her life

Early Childhood

3. 4. 5.

4-5 Years

Initiative vs. guilt Industry vs. inferiority Identity vs. role confusion

Family Neighborhood, school Peer groups and out-groups

6 Years to Puberty Adolescence

6.

Young Adult

Intimacy vs. isolation

Partners in friendship and sex

7.

Adult

Generativity vs. stagnation

New family, work Retirement and impending death

8.

Old Age

Integrity vs. despair

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Week 4 Social Groups & Organization and Deviance

Social Groups and Formal Organizations
Groups provide the structure by which we involve ourselves in the daily affairs of life. IN-CLASS QUESTION: How many groups can you think of that form a part of your life? When an association continues long enough for 2 people to become linked together by a relatively stable set of expectations, it is called a relationship. There are 2 types of bonds in relationships: 1. Expressive ties are social links formed when we emotionally invest ourselves in and commit ourselves to other people. 2. Instrumental ties are social links formed when we cooperate with other people to achieve a goal. Types of Groups 1. Primary group is a small group characterized by intimate, informal interaction. Expressive ties predominate in primary groups. They are more likely to emerge if the number of people is small enough so that each person can establish a relationship with each other person, if there is enough face-to-face contact so that people can exchange ideas and feelings in subtle and personal ways, and if people interact frequently and continuously enough to deepen their ties with one another. These groups are critical to socialization. 2. Secondary group entails two or more people who are involved in an impersonal relationship and have come together for a specific, practical purpose. Instrumental ties predominate. 3. In Groups is a group with which we identify and to which we belong. These provide us with our social identities. 4. Out Group is a group with which we do not identify and to which we do not belong. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Can you give me examples of Primary Groups, Secondary Groups, InGroups and Out Groups? We all have different reference groupssocial units we use for appraising and shaping attitudes, feelings and actions. When the group we belong to does not match our reference group, we may experience feelings of relative deprivationdiscontent associated with the gap between what we have and what we believe we should have. Group Dynamics

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1. Group Size a. 2 person groups are called dyads. b. 3 person groups are triads. Adding one person to a dyad is far more consequential than adding one person to any other size group. c. As groups become larger they become less manageable. 2. Leadership a. Task specialist is devoted to studying the problem and organizing peoples activity to deal with it. b. Emotional specialist focuses on overcoming interpersonal problems in the group, defusing tensions and promoting solidarity. c. Style of leadership: i. Authoritarian ii. Democratic iii. Laissez Faire 3. Social Loafing when individuals work in groups, they work less hard than they do when working individually. 4. Social Dilemma situation in which members of a group are faced with a conflict between maximizing their personal interests and maximizing the collective welfare. a. Free Rider Mechanism b. Prisoners Dilemma 5. Group Thinka decision making process found in highly cohesive groups in which the members become so preoccupied with maintaining consensus that their critical faculties are impaired. 6. Conformity happens because there is a desire to be correct and the desire to be accepted by the group. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Compete or Cooperate?

Formal Organizations Formal organizations are groups that are deliberately created for the achievement of specific objectives. Types of formal organizations: 1. Voluntary Organizations are associations that members enter and leave freely. 2. Coercive Organizations a. Total Institutions places of residence where individuals are isolated from the rest of society for an appreciable period of time and where behavior is tightly regimented. 3. Utilitarian Organizations organizations formed for practical reasons. Bureaucracy is a social structure made up of a hierarchy of statuses and roles that is prescribed by explicit rules and procedures and based on a division of function and authority. Characteristics of Bureaucracies (according to Max Weber): 1. Each office or position has clearly defined duties or responsibilities. 2. All offices are organized in a hierarchy of authority that takes the shape of a pyramid. 18

3. All activities are governed by a consistent system of abstract rules and regulations that define the responsibilities of the various offices and the relationships among them. 4. All offices carry with them qualifications and are filled on the basis of technical competence, not personal considerations. 5. Incumbents do not own their offices and cannot use offices for personal ends. 6. Employment by the organization is defined as a career. 7. Administrative decisions, rules, procedures and activities are recorded in written documents preserved in permanent files. Problems of Bureaucracies: 1. Oligarchy the concentration of power in the hands of a few individuals who use their offices to advance their own fortunes and self-interests. 2. Dysfunctions a. Relentless growth b. Trained incapacity unimaginative and mechanical application of rules and procedures. 3. Idealized Model a. Humans do not only exist for organizations. b. Bureaucracies are not immune to social change. c. Designed for the average person. d. Forms of informal organization emerge within a bureaucracy. Informal organizations are interpersonal networks and ties that arise in a formal organization but are not defined or prescribed by it. Humanizing Bureaucracies: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Employee Participation Alternative Work Schedules Virtual Offices Specialized Benefits Employee Stock Ownership Plans

Deviance and Crime

Deviance is behavior that is considerable number of people in a society view as reprehensible and beyond the limits of tolerance. Defiant acts vary greatly from time to time, place to place, and group to group. Norms usually allow for variant behavior, new or at least different behavior that falls within the borders of the acceptable. Functions of Deviance: 1. Reacting publicly to deviance can promote conformity. Such reactions create a community of the good. 2. Because norms are not always clear, each time the members of a group censure some act as deviance, they highlight and sharpen the contours of a norm. 19

3. By directing attention to the deviant, a group may strengthen itself. A shared enemy arouses common sentiments and cements feelings of solidarity. 4. Deviance is a catalyst for change. Social controls are the methods and strategies that regulate behavior within society. Types of social control processes: 1. Those that lead us to internalize our societys normative expectations. a. Internalization is the process by which individuals incorporate within their personalities the standards of behavior prevalent within the larger society. i. The critical steps of internalization are 1) learning what the norms are and 2) learning to believe that the norms are legitimate. 2. Those that structure our world of social experience. a. Societys institutions also shape our experiences. b. If we are locked within the social environment provided by our culture, we inhabit a somewhat restricted world and it may not occur to us that alternative standards exist. 3. Those that employ formal and informal social sanctions. a. Formal sanctions stem from the courts, honor systems, etc. b. Informal sanctions are reactions to deviance that occur in small communities, in groups of friends and in the family. Theories of Deviance Why do people violate social rules? 1. Anomie Theory a. Anomie is a social condition in which people find it difficult to guide their behavior by norms that they experience as weak, unclear or conflicting. b. Structural Strain Theory deviance arises from societal stress and not being able to achieve the culturally approved goals by using the institutionalized means for attainting them. There are five responses to the ends-means dilemma and four of them are deviant adaptations to conditions of anomie: i. Conformity foundation of a stable and properly functioning society. ii. Innovation iii. Ritualism involves losing touch with success goals while abiding compulsively by the institutionalized means. iv. Retreatism means dropping out of society. v. Rebellion 2. Cultural Transmission Theory a. Differential association emphasizes the part social interaction plays in molding peoples attitudes and behavior. b. Deviance may arise through the processes of socialization. 3. Conflict Theory

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a. Stems from the Marxist tradition and in essence says those individuals victimized by capitalist oppression are driven by their struggle to survive to commit acts that the ruling class brands as criminal. b. Alcoholism, drug abuse, mental illness, family violence, prostitution, etc., are products of the moral degeneration and estrangement produced by the oppression and exploitation of the poor, women and minorities. 4. Labeling Theory a. Interested in the process by which some individuals come to be tagged or labeled as deviants. b. The badness of an act does not come from its content but from the way other people define or react to it. Defiance is a matter of social definition. c. We are all engaged in deviant behavior i. Primary deviance is behavior that violates social norms but usually goes unnoticed by the agents of social control. d. Defiance depends on which rules society chooses to enforce, in which situations, and with respect to which people. e. Secondary deviance is behavior individuals adopt in response to the reactions of other individuals. f. People labeled as deviants are rejected and isolated by law-abiding people. 5. Control Theory a. This theory asks why people DO NOT deviate. b. People will conform if their bond to society is strong. This bond has four parts: i. Attachment ii. Involvement iii. Commitment iv. Belief c. Most research on control theory focuses on religion, the family and education. Crime is an act of deviance that is prohibited by law. Types of crime: 1. Index Crimes violent crimes against people and property. 2. Organized Crime carried out by large-scale bureaucratic organization that provides illegal goods and services in public demand. 3. White-Collar Crime crime committed by rich people, often in the course of business activities. 4. Victimless Crime no one involved is considered a victim. Example: gambling. 5. High-Technology Crime attempts to commit crime through the use of advanced electronic media. Traditional Purposes of Imprisonment: 1. Punishment 2. Rehabilitation 3. Deterrence 4. Incapacitation Capital Punishment is the imposition of the death sentence for a capital offense. 21

Week 5 Social Stratification

Patterns of Social Stratification
Social stratification is the term sociologists apply to the ranking or grading of individuals and groups into hierarchical layers. It represents structured inequality in the allocation of rewards, privileges and resources. Some individuals, by virtue of their roles or group memberships, are advantaged, while others are disadvantaged. Social stratification depends on but is not the same as social differentiation the process by which a society becomes increasingly specialized over time. Division of functions and labors over time. Social differentiation creates a necessary condition for social ranking but it does not create the ranking itself. Stratification Systems 1. Open System is one in which people can change their status with relative ease. 2. Closed System is one where people have great difficulty in changing their system. US democracy (opportunity for all based on hard work/merit) vs. Indian caste system Dimension of Stratification Marx Social stratification derives from the division between those who own and control the crucial means of production and those who have their labor to sell. Weber Other divisions are present in society independent of the class or economic aspect. He identified 3 components: 1) class (economic standing); 2) status (prestige), and; 3) party (power). The economic dimension of stratification consists of wealth (what people own at a particular point in time) and income (the amount of new money people receive within a given time interval.) Prestige involves the social respect, admiration, and recognition associated with a particular social status. We seek to give prestige a tangible existence through titles, special seats of honor, deference rituals, honorary degrees, emblems and displays of leisure and consumption. IN-CLASS QUESTION: List status/prestige symbols. Power refers to the ability of individuals and groups to realize their will in human affairs even if it involved the resistance of others.

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The American Class System

Is there inequality or not in the US? Over the past 45 years, the lowest 20% of households in income in the US never received more than 5.2% of aggregate income, while the highest 20% has always received 40% or more. In 2001, the top 5% of families received 22.4% of the income, more than 4 times what it would receive if incomes were equal across families. The top 20% of households in wealth own more than 80% of all wealth. The top 40% of households in wealth own nearly 94% of all the wealth. White households are by far wealthier than African-American and Hispanic ones. For every dollar owned by a white household, the average African-American receives 16 cents while the Hispanic only 9 cents.

The US compared to the Rest of the World? Inequality is highest in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Inequality is lowest in the formerly socialist countries of Eastern Europe.

IN-CLASS QUESTIONS: Lets discuss class based inequalities in your countries! Identifying Social Classes Different methods to identify classes: 1. Objective sees social class as a statistical category. The categories are formed by sociologists and/or statisticians. People are assigned based on income, occupation and/or education. a. Problem What about prestige? How does one measure it? 2. Self-Placement people identify the social class to which they think they belong. Class is viewed as a social category, one in which people group themselves with others they perceive as sharing certain characteristics in common. a. Problem May represent peoples aspirations and not actual status. 3. Reputational this approach views class as a social group, one in which people share a feeling of oneness and are bound together in relatively stable patters of interaction. The Significance of Social Class Social class determines peoples life chances or the likelihood that individuals and groups will enjoy desired goods and services, fulfilling experiences, and opportunities for living healthy and long lives. Social class also affects peoples style of life or the magnitude and manner of their consumption of goods and services. Poverty in the US Who are the poor? 23

Single and divorced parents and their children. Single mothers. Hispanics and African-Americans. Children.

Underclass is a segment of the population, concentrated in the inner city, which are persistently poor, unemployed and dependent on welfare. Four ways people refer to the underclass: 1. Income Levels (impoverished underclass) 2. Income Sources (jobless underclass) 3. Cultural Skills (educational underclass) 4. Moral Behaviors (group that deviates from middle-class values and norms) Theories of Poverty 1. Culture of poverty the poor in class-stratified societies lack effective participation and integration within the larger society. The poor develop feelings of marginality, helplessness, dependence and inferiority. They become self-perpetuating patterns. Psychological in nature. 2. Situational theory poverty population as a pool, with people flowing in and out based on adverse effects. People are the victims of their past, their environment, luck and chance. 3. Structural theory the cyclical movements between economic expansion and contraction contribute to sharp fluctuations in employment. Poverty Programs The US is the only industrialized nation that has no guaranteed income program for families in poverty and no national health program to meet the medical needs of its citizens.

Social Mobility
Social mobility refers to the shift of individuals or groups from one social status to another. It can occur in two ways: 1) societies change and alter the division of labor, introducing new positions, undermining old ones and shifting the allocation of resources, and; 2) shifts occur in the availability of different types of talent. Vertical mobility involves movement from one social status to another of higher or lower rank. Horizontal mobility entails movement from one social status to another of approximately equivalent rank. Intergenerational mobility involves a comparison of the social status of parents and their children at some point in their respective careers. Intragenerational mobility entails a comparison of the social status of a person over an extended time period. 24

Socioeconomic life cycle is a technique for studying the course of an individuals occupational status over the life cycle. It involves a sequence of stages that begin with birth into a family with a specific social status and proceeds through childhood, socialization, schooling, job seeking, occupational achievement, marriage and the formation and functioning of a new family unit. Education generally has the greatest influence on occupational attainment according to studies. Criticism of the socioeconomic life cycle it is not the case that the job market is fully open to individuals who acquire positions based on education and ability. Processes for status attainment are different for, say, African-Americans and women. Dual Labor Market in which the primary, or core, sector of the economy offers good jobs and the secondary, or periphery, sector offers bad jobs that provide poor pay, poor working conditions and little room for advancement. In the US, minorities are mostly employed in the secondary section. With this in mind, it is important to look at race, class and gender and how they affect the status attainment process.

Explanations of Social Stratification

The Functionalist Theory of Stratification Supports social arrangements stating that an unequal distribution of social rewards is a necessary instrument for getting the essential task of society performed. Society must motivate people at two levels: 1) it must instill in certain individuals the desire to fill various positions, and 2) once the individuals are in these positions, it must instill in them the desire to carry out the appropriate roles. Society must have 1) some kind of rewards that it can use as inducements for its members, and 2) some way of distributing these rewards among the various statuses. The positions most highly rewarded are those that 1) are occupied by the most talented or qualified and 2) that are functionally most important. For example, physicians. Criticisms: o Sometimes jobs are allocated based on social connections and power. o Social and legal barriers around occupations. o Many positions of high responsibility are not highly rewarded. Compare US President to a Basketball Player or Television Star.

The Conflict Theory of Stratification Highly critical of existing social arrangements, viewing social inequality as an exploitative mechanism arising out of a struggle for valued goods and services in short supply. Stems from Marxist perspective. Criticisms: o Ownership of means of production only constitutes one kind of power.

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Week 6 Race, Ethnic and Gender Inequality

Racial and Ethnic Stratification
The concept of race frequently is used to refer to differences among groups in their physical characteristics such as color of their skin, texture of their hair, facial features, stature and the shape of their heads. However, for sociologists race is a social construct. A race is a group of people who see themselves and are seen by others as having hereditary traits that set them apart. Racism exists at two levels: 1. Individual racism is the belief that some racial groups are naturally superior and others are inferior. 2. Institutional racism involves discriminatory policies and practices that result in unequal outcomes for members of different racial groups. IN-CLASS QUESTION: How does racism in Cyprus compare to that of your home country? Have you experienced racism in Cyprus or elsewhere? Ethnic groups are groups that people identify with chiefly on cultural groundslanguage, folk practices, dress, gestures, mannerisms or religion. Ethnic groups also have a sense of shared history and shared fate that can draw people together into a powerful social unit. A minority group is a racially and culturally self-conscious population, with hereditary membership and a high degree of in-group marriage, which suffers oppression at the hands of a dominant group. Minority groups have five characteristics: 1. A social group whose members experience discrimination, segregation, oppression or persecution at the hand of another social group (the dominant group) and lack access to power necessary to change their situation. 2. Characterized by physical and cultural traits that distinguish it from the dominant group. 3. It is a self-conscious social group characterized by a consciousness of oneness. 4. Non-voluntary membership. 5. The members of a minority (by choice or necessity) often marry within their own group. IN-CLASS QUESTION: What are some of the minority groups in your country? Prejudice refers to attitudes of aversion and hostility toward the members of a group simply because they belong to it and hence are presumed to have the objectionable qualities ascribed to it. Prejudice is essentially a state of mind. Three components to racial prejudice: 1. A cognitive component that provides a description of members of the target group, often including negative stereotypes. 2. An affective component that involves negative reactions and emotional feelings about the group. 26

3. A behavioral component that may include the tendency to discriminate or behave negatively toward members of the group. Why are people prejudiced toward members of other groups? Two explanations: 1. Social psychology theories claim that prejudice stems from social interaction a. Frustration-aggression theory claims prejudice is a form of scapegoating. b. Authoritarian personality theory argues that prejudice emerges out of strict child-rearing practices that result in people valuing obedience to authority and desiring to dominate others. c. Socialization theory argues that prejudiced attitudes are part of the culture that people internalize during socialization by parents, friends and associates and whose messages are reinforced in school and stereotypes in the media. 2. Social structure theories claim that prejudice is a cultural mechanism emerging out of conflict and competition between groups and that it can be an important factor for a single group to achieve and maintain dominance. They argue that as positions of groups change in society, the content of prejudices will change too. a. Realistic group-conflict theory argues that when interests of two groups diverge, prejudice attitudes will result. When they converge, intergroup attitudes will be positive. b. Sense of group position theory states that prejudice stems from peoples perceptions of the position of their group relative to other groups. Discrimination is a process in which members of one or more groups or categories in society are denied the privileges, prestige, power, legal rights, equal protection of the law, and other societal benefits that are available to members of other groups. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Examples of Prejudice and Discrimination! Institutional discrimination is when institutions of a society function in such a way that they produce unequal results for different groups. Gate keeping is the decision-making process whereby people are admitted to offices and positions of privilege, prestige and power within a society. Environmental racism is the practice of placing hazardous waste facilities and other dangerous buildings in or next to minority communities.

Assimilation and Pluralism Assimilation refers to the processes whereby groups with distinctive identities become socially and culturally fused. 1. Melting Pot assimilation as a process whereby peoples and cultures would produce a new people and civilization. 2. Anglo-Saxon Pattern American culture as a finished product and immigrants must give up their traits for those of the dominant group

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Acculturation is when the cultural traits of one group change in the direction of another group. To a certain degree, acculturation is a two-way street. Integration (or structural assimilation) is when members of different ethnic groups participate with one another in the major institutional structures of society. Generally occurs at work and school. Acculturation Integration Amalgamation Pluralism is a situation in which diverse groups coexist and boundaries between them are maintained. It might be perpetuated because minority groups do not wish to be assimilated, valuing their separate identities and customs. Equalitarian pluralism cultural identity and group boundaries are maintained but ethnic groups members participate freely and equally in political and economic institutions. Inequalitarian pluralism ethnic group distinctiveness is maintained but economic and political participation of minority groups is severely limited by the dominant group.

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial or ethnic group. This is an example of an inequalitarian policy at its extreme.

Sociological Perspectives on Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity The Functionalist Perspective 1. Ethnic differentiation might be dysfunctional because it reduces consensus, increases the chance of conflict and threatens equilibrium in society. 2. However, ethnic differentiation has some functions in society: a. Conflict promotes group formation and groups are building blocks of society. b. Promotes group cohesion. c. May serve as a safety valve for society as a whole by channeling hostilities from within family, work and other crucial settings onto permissible targets, stability of existing social structures is maintained. This is known as the scapegoating mechanism. d. Conducive to democracy. The Conflict Perspective 1. Ethnocentrism when people perceive that their group can realize its goals at the expense of another one, tensions will rise, each group will see the other as a threat, and prejudicial attitudes will be generated toward the out group. 2. Competition ethnocentrism channels competition through ethnic and racial lines. 3. Unequal Power necessary to translate prejudice into discrimination; it is the mechanism by which domination and subjugation are achieved. The Interactionist Perspective 1. Ethnicity arises when communication channels between groups are limited and the different groups develop different systems of meanings.

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2. The more a group uses a single communication channel, the more isolated it is and the more it tends to view the other groups from the perspective of its own system of meaning. 3. Causes of ethnic conflict and stratification are to be found in the social definitions groups have of each other and in the norms and patterns of interaction that perpetuate these definitions.

Gender Inequality
Defining some basic terms: Sex refers to whether one is genetically male or female and determines the biological role that one will play in reproduction. Gender is a form of social differentiation; it refers to the sociocultural distinction between males and females. Gender identities are the conceptions we have of ourselves as being male or female. Gender roles are sets of cultural expectations that define the ways in which the members of each sex should behave.

Sexism is gender inequality and it operates on two levels: 1. Individual level a) because of inherent biological differences, men and women are naturally suited to different roles, and; b) that this is the primary cause of the differential distribution of status, power and income by gender. 2. Institutional level sexism involves policies, procedures and practices that produce unequal outcomes for men and women. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Have you experienced sexism in Cyprus or elsewhere? Patriarchy is a system of social organization in which men have a disproportionate share of power. Forms of Gender Inequality throughout the World Domestic violence Women trafficking Honor killings Unemployment Pregnancy-related problems Preference for boys Female genital mutilation Rape Transmission of STDs to young women by older men Illiteracy

Sources of Gender Differences Great variation in the gender roles of men and women from one society to another point to a social foundation for most of these differences. Gender roles are largely a matter of social definition and socially constructed meanings. 29

Gender Identities? 1. Freudian Explanations gender identity and the adoption of sex-typed behaviors are the result of a conflict that emerges between the ages of 3 and 6. During these ages, children discover the genital differences between sexes. This discovery prompts children to see themselves as rivals of their same-sex parents for the affection of the parent of the other sex. Such feelings and desires give rise to anxiety which is resolved by children identifying with the parent of the same sex. 2. Cultural Transmission Theory the acquisition of gender identities stems from a gradual process of learning that begins in infancy. Older people reinforce responses that are deemed appropriate to the childs gender role and discourage inappropriate ones. 3. Cognitive-Development Theory children actively seek to acquire gender identities and roles. Children label themselves as boys or girls between the ages of 1.5 and 3. Once they have done this, they adopt behaviors consistent with their newly discovered status. This is called self-socialization. Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification The Functionalist Perspective 1. Division of labor between men and women arose because of womans role in reproduction. 2. It is functional and beneficial for society if males play instrumental, goal-oriented roles and females play expressive roles, supporting husbands and nurturing children. The Conflict Perspective 1. Sexual division of labor as a social vehicle devised by men to ensure for themselves privilege, prestige and power in their relationship with women. The Interactionist Perspective 1. Gender as socially constructed a product of sociocultural processes involving symbols and meanings. 2. Cultural meanings are continuously emerging and changing through social interaction. 3. People can intentionally change the structure of gender differentiation and inequality by changing the underlying meanings.

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Week 7 Social Change

A World of Change
Social change is fundamental alterations in the patterns of culture, structure and social behavior over time. Sources of Social Change A. B. C. D. E. Physical Environment Population Clashes over Resources and Values Supporting Values and Norms Innovation a. Discovery represents an addition to knowledge. b. Invention uses existing knowledge in a new and creative way. F. Diffusion, which is the process by which cultural traits spread from one social unit to another. G. Mass Media Perspectives on Social Change A. Evolutionary Perspectives a. Social Darwinism/Unilinear Evolution b. Multilinear change does not necessarily imply progress, change occurs in quite different ways, and change proceeds in many different directions. B. Cyclical Perspectives a. Focus on the rise and fall of civilizations. b. Compare societies to study the stages of growth and decline. C. Functionalist Perspectives a. A society in equilibrium adjusts itself to changes and accommodates them within the functioning structure and finds a new level of equilibrium. D. Conflict Perspectives a. Tensions between groups are the source of social change. Social Change in Developing Nations A. Modernization describes the process by which a society moves from traditional or preindustrial social and economic arrangements to those characteristic of industrial societies. Societies become increasingly urban, industry is greater than agriculture, population increases in size and density, and the knowledge base expands. Good examples of societies that have gone through this process are Singapore and South Korea. B. World System or Dependency sees the social structures of developing nations as shaped by the historical experience of colonialism, the timing and manner of their incorporation into the global capitalist economy, and the continuation of their 31

dependency through political domination, multinational corporations, and unfavorable exchange rates. Main examples are Latin America and Africa.

Collective Behavior
Collective behavior are ways of thinking, feeling and acting that develop among a large number of people and that are relatively spontaneous and unstructured. Varieties of Collective Behavior A. Rumor is a difficult-to-verify piece of information transmitted from person to person in relatively rapid fashion. B. Fashion is a folkway that lasts for a short time and enjoys widespread acceptance within society. Fad is a folkway that lasts for a short time and enjoys acceptance among only a segment of the population. C. Mass Hysteria refers to the rapid spread of behaviors involving contagious anxiety, usually associated with a mysterious force. Usually a response to a lot of stress. D. Panic involves irrational and uncoordinated but collective actions among people created by the presence of an immediate, severe threat. E. Crowd is one of the most familiar and at times spectacular forms of collective behavior. It is a temporary, relatively unorganized gathering of people in close physical proximity. a. Casual Crowd is a collection of people who have little in common except that they are viewing a common event. b. Conventional Crowd entails a number of people who have assembled for some specific purpose and who typically act in accordance with established norms. c. Expressive Crowd is a group of people who have come together for selfstimulation and personal gratification. d. Acting Crowd is an excited, volatile group of people who are engaged in rioting, looting and other aggressive behavior. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Give me examples of the four types of crowds! Preconditions for Collective Behavior Episodes of collective behavior are products of six determinants: 1. Structural Conduciveness consists of the social conditions that permit a particular variety of collective behavior to occur. 2. Structural Strain occurs when important aspects of a social system are out of place. 3. The growth of a generalized belief. 4. Precipitating factors or some sort of event that will trigger collective action. 5. Mobilization of participating for action. 6. Operation of social control these attempt to prevent, interrupt or weaken the previous five factors.

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Explanations of Crowd Behavior A. Contagion Theory emphasizes the part that rapidly communicated and uncritically accepted feelings, attitudes and actions play in crowd settings. Unanimity prevails in the crowds. B. Convergence Theory suggests that a crowd consists of a highly unrepresentative body of people who assemble because they share the same predispositions. C. Emergent-Norm Theory stressed the lack of unanimity in crowd situations and differences in motives, attitudes and actions that define the crowd.

Social Movements
Social movement is a more-or-less persistent and organized effort on the part of a relatively large group of people to bring about or resist change. Causes of Social Movements 1. Deprivation Approaches 2. Resource Mobilization Types of Social Movements Ideology is crucial to a social movement. It is a set of ideas that provides individuals with conceptions of the social movements purposes, its rationale for existence, its indictment of existing conditions or arrangements, and its design for action. 1. Revolutionary Movements fight for the replacement of the existing value scheme. 2. Reform Movements pursue changes that will implement the existing value scheme more adequately. 3. Resistance Movements arise not only for the purpose of institutional change but also to block change or to eliminate a previously instituted change. 4. Expressive Movements are less concerned with institutional change than with renovating or renewing people from within. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Give me examples of the types of social movements listed above! Social Revolution involves the overthrow of a societys state and class structures and the creation of new social arrangements. Conditions for social revolution include: i. ii. iii. Good deal of power concentrated in the state. Military allegiance to the established regime is weakened. Political crises weaken the established regime and lead to the collapse of the state apparatus. 33

iv.

Substantial segment of the population must mobilize in uprisings that bring new elite to power.

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Week 8 Political and Economic Power

Power, Authority and the State
The state as a political institution is an arrangement that consists of people who exercise an effective monopoly in the use of physical coercion within a given territory. The state rests on force or power whose basis is the threat or application of punishment. Sociological Perspectives on the State 1. Functionalist Perspective a. State arose to maintain order and provide for the common good. b. Take care of planning & direction through the establishment of laws. c. Enforce the laws. d. Arbitration of conflict of interests. e. Protection against other societies through war and diplomacy. 2. Conflict Perspective a. State as a vehicle by which one or more groups impose their values and stratification system upon other groups. b. State as instrument of violence and oppression. c. Enforce the unequal distribution of social and material rewards in order to preserve the position of the privileged group(s). d. Colonial powers.

Legitimacy and Authority

There is an important distinction between power that is legitimate and power that is illegitimate. Legitimate power is authority. When leaders possess authority, they have a recognized and established right to give orders, determine policies, pronounce judgments, settle controversies and act as leaders. Max Weber suggests a threefold classification of authority based on the manner in which the power is socially legitimated: 1. Traditional authority or power legitimated by the sanctity of age-old customs. For example, the divine right of Kings and inherited power. 2. Legal-Rational Authority or power legitimated by explicit rules and rational procedures that define the rights and duties of the occupants of given positions. 3. Charismatic Authority or power legitimated by the extraordinary superhuman or supernatural attributes people grant to a leader. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Provide examples of each kind of authority!

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Political Power
Politics refers to the process by which people and groups acquire and exercise power. When power is organized and wielded by the state, it is political power. Types of Government Government entails those political processes that have to do with the authoritative formulating of rules and policies that are binding and pervasive throughout a society. 1. Totalitarianism is a total state, one in which the government undertakes to control all parts of the society and all aspects of social life. Major prototypes are Hitlers Nazi Germany and Stalins Russia. Three main characteristics: a. Monolithic political party b. Compelling ideology c. Pervasive social control 2. Authoritarianism is a political system in which the government tolerated little or no opposition to its rule but permits nongovernmental centers of influence and allows debate on some issues of public policy. 3. Democracy is a political system in which the powers of government derive from the consent of the governed and in which regular constitutional avenues exist for changing government officials. Arrangement that: a. Permits the population a significant voice in decision making through the peoples right to choose among contenders for political office b. Allows for broad, relatively equal citizenship among the populace c. Affords the citizenry protection from arbitrary state action. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Provide examples of each type of government! What factors promote Democracy? Interest groups are organizations of people who share common concerns or points of view. Each group is limited in influence because officials must also take into account the points of view of other groups. Civil society is a social realm of mediating groups, networks and institutions that sustains the public life outside the worlds of the state and the economy. Political parties are organizations designed to gain control of the government by putting its people in public office. Serve as intermediaries between people and the government. Mass media consists of organizations (newspapers, magazines, television, radio, the Internet and motion pictures) whose job is to pass on information to a large segment of the public.

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Economic Power
Types of Economic Systems Socialist Economy the government directly controls the economy, in many cases setting prices and wages and deciding what will be produced. Command Economy the state or central planning authority determines the items that will be produced and their quantities.

Capitalist Economy the government oversees and sets parameters for the economy, but in many ways leaves the economy alone, allowing the market to decide what the economy will do. Market Economy decisions about what will be produced, how much will be produced, and what products cost are made in economic transactions between consumers and producers.

Mixed Economies economies that include elements of both command and market economies. For example, democratic socialism in which production is privately owned but there is a large public sector with publicly owned enterprises involved in public transportation, healthcare, air travel, mining, oil production, education, utilities, etc. IN-CLASS QUESTION: Which type of economy is better? Why?

The Power of Corporations

Oligopoly is a market dominated by a few firms. Examples? Multinational corporations are firms that have their central office in one country and subsidiaries in other countries. Participating in the division of labor of the world economy into core regions (geographical areas that dominate the world economy and exploit the rest of the system) and periphery regions (areas that provide raw materials to the core and are exploited by it). These firms rival nations in wealth and frequently operate as private governments pursuing their worldwide interests by well-developed foreign policies.

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