Sociology:
the study of people’s behavior
and actions in groups
A person who studies Sociology is called a
sociologist.
There are 4 tools used by sociologists:
1. Observation and analysis of human
behavior.
2. Surveys of public opinion, sometimes called
opinion polls.
3. Interviews.
4. Role Playing
Social Groups
Because no one person in our society can supply all of
the needs and wants, we must belong to groups. The
4 primary social groups are:
1. Primary – small, close group, long-term
relationships (Ex. Family)
2. Secondary – larger group and less loving than the
primary group (Ex. Formed to do a job)
3. Community – group of people who work together
for a common cause and may live close to each other
(Ex. BCHS, your church, your neighborhood)
4. Society – large group of primary and secondary
groups and 2 or more communities (Ex. Barren
County, KY, USA)
Socialization: Process of learning the
group of social rules people should live by
 Norms – the social rules or standards of a
group
 There are 3 types of norms:
1. Folkways- norms of politeness or customs (Ex.
Manners and business etiquette)
2. Mores – norms that are taken more seriously
when broken and people must accept the
consequences for their actions ( Ex.
Excommunication from the church)
3. Laws – made and enforced by the government
of the society. Formal rules to protect the
people and may or may not be mores.
Roles & Sanctions

Role - name given to the kind of behavior that a
person is supposed to have in a particular society.

Role Conflict – when a person acts differently for
the different roles they may be involved in (Ex.
Church member vs. Job role).

Sanctions – an action that supports a social norm
1. Positive sanctions - rewards for
obedience
2. Negative sanctions – punishment for
disobedience
The 5 Institutions
(Groups needed in order to satisfy their needs)
1. Institution of the Family
Meets the needs of :
a. physical and emotional “belongingness”
b. teaching socialization of children
c. internalizing values and norms
Types:
a. Nuclear – parents and children
b. Extended – nuclear plus grandparents, aunts,
uncles, cousins.
c. One-Parent family
The 5 Institutions (cont.)
2. The Institution of Education
Meets the needs of :
a. helping families teach children about society’s
values, norms, and roles
b. teaches students about ideas from the past and
academic skills
c. prepares students for the adult world
d. allows people to further their vocation
* 3.5 billion dollars are spent taxes each year to maintain public
education
The 5 Institutions (cont.)
3. The Institution of Government
Meets the needs of:
a. Making and enforcing laws based on
the mores of society
b. keeping society safe
c. punishing those who break the law
d. protects territoriality (people, land,
space, and objects as one’s own against
invasion from others).
The 5 Institutions (cont.)
4. The Institution of Religion
Meets the needs of society by:
Allowing places of worship where one can
worship with a group
5. The Economic Institution
Meets the needs of society by:
Allowing people to specialize in their
vocation (job/career) by working in an
industry or business.
Stop Here and Review
 What are the 4 tools used by
sociologist?
 What are the 5 social
institutions?
 What are the 3 types of norms?
 Why do we belong to different
groups?
 What are sanctions?
Norms
 Enforce social values.
 Develop from society’s basic beliefs.
Values
1. Value – an idea or belief about the
“goodness” or “badness”
2. Social Stratification – how a society
ranks its members
3. Status - the position one holds on the
ladder of social stratification (emphasis on
- Ed., wealth, power, salary, occupation,
where you live)
1. Mobility – the process of changing
one’s social status (upward,
downward, horizontal)
2. Status symbols – things and/or
titles that tell everyone the person’s
social status
3 Social Classes:
1. Upper
2. Middle
3. Lower
TOTAL INSTITUTIONS
Re-socialization – where members of
society learn new values and norms
in hopes of experiencing a behavior
change
(Ex. Prisons, Military, Youth Camps)
Communication:
the process of making, keeping, and changing
relationships with others
2 Types:
 Verbal – written or spoken
 Nonverbal – communication without
spoken or written words or symbols
(ex. body language, clothing, facial
expression)
*Some sociologist claim that 90% of all
human communication is nonverbal
Mass Media
 A major form of communication
through TV, radio, newspapers.
 98% of households in the US have TV
 Children watch an average of 5-6
hours of TV each day
Positive effects of TV
 Instant news coverage
 Educational programs
 Sports and Leisure Programming for
relaxation
 Safety information (Weather
warnings)
Negative Effects of TV
 Violence
 By age 16, one sees 18,000 fictional murders
and countless acts of violence.
 Media often portray violence as okay, thus
desensitizing people




Vulgarity and Sexual Activity
Bad values sometimes portrayed positively
Takes away from family time
Portrays society as hopeless
Personality
 The sum total of all behaviors,
attitudes, beliefs, and values that are
characteristic of an individual.
 During the 1900’s there was great
debate over whether
 Nature (heredity) or
 Nurture (environment and social
learning)
contribute in the role of personality
development.
4 Principle Personality Factors:
Birth Order, Parental Characteristics,
Cultural Environment, and Heredity
1. Birth Order
a.
b.
c.
d.
First born - self-motivated, responsible and serious
Middle – more competitive
Last born – more social, affectionate, spoiled, less
serious
Only child – independent, selfish, creative and
spoiled
2. Parental Characteristics
a.
b.
c.
Age of parents
Wealth
Occupation
4 Principle Personality Factors
(cont.)
3. Cultural Environment
a. Just being an American results in most people
being
more competitive, assertive, and
individualistic
b. Parental treatment & expectations of boys & girls
c. Inner-city vs. Rural communities
4. Heredity:
Inherited physical characteristics,
aptitude, and talent
Socialization Theories
 Clean Slate Theory: John Locke believed that we
acquire our personality through social experiences, we
are born without a personality.
 Looking Glass Theory: Charles Cooley believed that
we develop an image of ourselves based on how we
imagine ourselves appearing to others. We seek
approval from others. Inferiority or confidence is built
based upon how we think others see us.
 Role-Play Theory: George Meade believed we take
on roles based upon others’ perceptions. Differences
between “I” (spontaneous/self-centered) and “me”
(cares about the expectations of society)
Cultural Variations
Ethnocentrism – belief that one’s
own
culture and group is superior
 Positive – creates national pride
 Negative – discrimination & violence
(Nazi’s)
Cultural Relativism – belief that
cultures should be judged by their
own standards (Muslims and
Cultural Variations (cont.)
 Sub-culture – a group with its
unique values and behaviors that
exists within another a larger culture
(Ex. Amish, Chinatown, Eskimos).
 Counter Culture – a group who
totally rejects the larger society (Ex.
Skinheads, gangs, devil worshippers,
terrorists).
Family
Art & Music
Achievement
Medicine
Religion
Common
Features
Of All
Cultures
Foods
Language
Myths
Tool Making/
Technology
Body
Adornment
Why study social problems?
1. Sociology developed during the 17th and 18th
centuries as a means to understand new conditions
created by the:
The Industrial Revolution
Growth of Cities- population explosion
Growth of Factories & Large-Scale Production
Unemployment
Housing Shortages
Crime & Pollution
Changes in the Demands of Society
Change in Working & Living Conditions
Famous Sociologists
Auguste Comte




Focused on society as a
whole and how society
maintains stability
Founder of “sociology”
Used investigation and
observation
We should be concerned
with 2 problems:


Order or Social Statics
Change or Social
Dynamics
1798-1857 (French)
Karl Marx
 Marx, with his
partner Friedrich
Engels, created the
famous Communist
Manifesto (1848). In
which they argued
that the working
class should revolt,
and form a
communist society.
 Examined social
conflict.
Herbert Spencer
 Spencer said that
society was like an
organism
 He was greatly
influenced by the
work of Charles
Darwin’s “Survival
of the Fittest”
Theory
1820-1903
(English)
Emile Durkheim
 Durkheim used science
to explain his views.
(1st to apply the
scientific method)
 He thought that
individual people are
the result of the
complex social forces.
 Believed that values,
education, beliefs, and
religion were the glue
of society.
Max Weber
 Weber was a German
sociologist.
 In his books, he talked
about how religion and
ideals affect
capitalism.
 Studied the effects of
society on individuals
rather than society as
a whole.
W.E.B. DuBois
 DuBois was a
sociologist who fought
for black equality.
Called a radical by his
enemies, he looked to
explore the social
interests of his people
 Born in 1868 in Mass.,
he died in 1963 of selfimposed exile in
Ghana, Africa.
In order to study sociology we
must understand:
 Sociological Perspective – enables one
to look beyond commonly held beliefs to
the hidden meanings behind human
actions.
(Why things happen and what are their causes.)
 Social Imagination – enables one to see
the connection between a larger world and
our personal lives.
“How we influence our environment & visa
versa.”
''What our children need are lessons that explore unfamiliar possibilities,
that play on their imaginative capacities while teaching core democratic
values like respect for persons, property and truth.''
Secretary of
Education William J. Bennett. 1986
Self-discipline
Compassion
Loyalty
Honesty
Responsibility
Bennett’s
List:
9 Values
Friendship
Perseverance
Courage
Work
7 Traditional American Values
1. Morality – knowing right from wrong
2. Freedom – individual is free from government
control
3. Democracy – government should represent
the people
4. Work – hard work and discipline are the way
to accomplish one’s goals and tasks
5. Personal Achievement – each person should
try to be the best they can be in life
6. Equality – all people treated fairly and equal
7. Humanitarianism – helping others who are
less fortunate
Ideology
 Ideology – a system of beliefs or ideas
that justifies some social, moral, religious,
political, or economic interests held by a
social group
 Self-fulfillment – a new value that has
emerged in the US which is a commitment
to the full development of one’s personality,
talent, and potential
 Narcissism – extreme self-centeredness
Dealing with Adolescence
 Adolescence – the period between the onset of
puberty and the beginning of adulthood ( usually
begins at around 11-14 years old and lasts for 6-10
years.
 Teenager – a western term that became common in
the 1940’s.
 Teenagers should…
 Become independent (separate from the
family)
 Develop a sense of identification as a male
or female
 Complete one’s education
 Begin to support oneself and make a living
Influencing Factors
in the
Development
of Adolescence
as a
Separate Life Cycle
Mandatory
Education
Exclusion
of youth from
workforce
Juvenile
Justice
System
Characteristics of
Adolescence





Biological Growth & Development
Undefined Status
Increased Decision Making
Increased Pressure
Searching for One’s Self
Biological Growth &
Development
 Dramatic Changes in…
 Height
 Weight
 Complexion
Undefined Status
 Vague and unclear expectations on
adolescents
 Do you act like a child or an adult
Increased Decision Making




Careers
Studying
Sports
Dating / Courtship
Increased Pressure
 Parental Pressure
 Peer pressure – in most cases the
greatest pressure
 School Pressure
 Relationships
 Role Conflilcts
Searching for One’s Self
 What values, morals, beliefs are part
of you.
 What your priorities are
Adolescence
 Anticipatory Socialization – learning the rights,
obligations, and expectations of becoming an adult
 This process can cause depressions and
confusion in some adolescents
 Families often have disagreements with their
adolescents over degrees of freedom and
responsibilities. This difference and seeming
lack of understanding is referred to as the
“Generation Gap”
 Adolescents usually prefer the company of their
peers to those of their family
 Most problems can be solved with time and
patience!
2 Major Problems for Adolescents:
1. Severe Depression
•
Depression can lead to teen suicide (12 per
100,000 population).
2. Use of Drugs and Alcohol
Why do adolescents use drugs and
alcohol?




Friends do
Social and Academic adjustment problems
Hostile/violent family atmosphere
Drugs, alcohol, & cigarettes are glamorized
by the mass media
STOP !!!