Intro to Sociology
Defined
• Study of groups and group behavior
• How groups
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Form
Change
Relate to each other
Affect members
Are affected by members
Prosper or fail
5 Traits to Any Group
• Norms: rules that govern behavior
• Values: what is held to be important
• Status: an individual’s place in the group
(child, parent, etc.)
• Social Ranking: an individual’s place of honor
in the group relative to other members
• Roles: tasks or functions carried out by
members
Society
• People who:
– Live in a certain area
– Share a certain way of life
– Have a feeling of solidarity (unity)
• Roles filled:
– Replace members who die
– Train the young in its norms and values
– Explain the meaning of existence
Society
• Roles continued:
– Reinforce moral values (unique to each society)
– Provide food and shelter for members
– Maintain order and security
• Happens naturally in small, simple settings
• Governed by institutions in large, complex
settings
Institution
• Distinct and stable pattern of norms, values,
statutes, and roles that fills a basic need of
society
5 Institutions of any Society:
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Family
Education
Religion
Economic system
Government
Social Control
• Process by which groups encourage
conformity to norms
– Group will fall apart otherwise
• Internal control (conscience)
• External control (rules/laws)
Influential Thinkers
Comte
• Coined term “sociology”
• Statics: hold society together
• Dynamics: cause changes in society
Spencer: “Social Darwinism”
• Nothing should be done about problems in
society
• Strong prosper and weak fail
• Fittest societies survive
Marx
• Society is structured by the economy
• 2 groups: workers and owners
• Workers would one day overthrow the owners
and have a classless society
• Conflict is the main agent of social change
Durkheim
• Applied scientific method to sociology
– Only study what can be observed
• Society as set of interdependent parts with
specific functions
• Each part keeps social system going
Weber
• Primary interest was separate groups in
society
• Influence of society on the individual
Westerhen
• Meaning that people attach to their actions
• Place yourself in position of others and try to
see from their perspective
Sociological Perspectives
• Theoretical Perspective: general set of
assumptions about the nature of things
Functional Perspective
• Society is a set of interrelated parts that
create a stable social system
• Manifest function: intended and recognized
consequence of a part
• Dysfunctional function: negative
consequences a part has for the system
• Latent function: unintended and unrecognized
consequence
Conflict Perspective
• How those in power exercise control over the
less powerful
• All groups compete for scarce resources
– Power and wealth
– Creates conflict
• Conflict drives social change
– Social change is inevitable
Interactionist
• How individuals interact with each other
• Meaning attached to actions
• How people use symbols and meanings