What is Sociology?
Chpt. 3
Sociology: the study of social behaviour and human groups, individual behaviour
Society: a large group of people who live in the same area sharing distinctive culture and institutions.
Provides protection, stability, security, identity to members
Spotlight on Sociology: Energy Drinks and Risky Behaviour
 Impact of energy drinks on social behaviour and peer relationships
 Miller: (18-25 yr olds) Links between energy drink consumption, risky substance use and sexual risk
taking
 Frequent users (6+/month) 3x more likely to have smoked, abused prescription drugs, been in a
serious physical fight in the prior year
 Also unsafe sex, not using a seatbelt, extreme sports
 Energy drinks contain 3-10x as much caffeine of a soft drink
 Many countries have restricted or banned as a result of recent deaths linked to energy drinks
Sociology: Past & Present - The Roots of Sociology
Ibn Khaldun: forefather of sociology
 14th century history philosopher writing about Muslim political and social problems
 Sociology formally existed during the industrial revolution
 Changed how people work and lived
 Shift from agriculture to manufacturing in the 18th and 19th centuries in England
 Child labour increased
 Working conditions horrible
 Cities became overcrowded
 Living conditions deteriorated, crime rate rose
 Social inequality theories were created
Cultural expressions of society (symbols, learned behaviours)
 Value: Hitting people is wrong.
 Norm: When people meet they often shake hands. (This can, of course, change in different cultures.)
 Role: A professional emergency responder is expected to help a person in distress.
 A norm can also be a value ex. Wearing clothes is both valued and expected. Sociologists study these
ideas because they are an important part of all cultures and are often at the centre of a society’s
morals and social structure.
In Focus: Sociologists and the Fall of the Berlin Wall p. 99
 Relationship between historical events (economic and political) and social behaviour
 Berlin divided East and West after WWII
 1961 wall built to stop the exodus of East Berlin into the west eliminating cultural contact between
the two societies
 1989 wall was torn down reuniting families and the city
 Recording social changes, tensions and differences to study how social change and institutions
affected behaviour
1. Is it important for sociologists to understand the history of societies they study?
2. How can historical events explain current social issues? Examples?
Sociology
Macro
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wide perspective studying society as a whole
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analyzing social systems and populations on a large scale
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Religious institutions
Micro
 Role and interactions an individual or small group
 Individual or small group of worshippers
Schools of Thought – see the chart you made
 Structural Functionalism
 Conflict
 Feminist
 Symbolic Interactionism
In Focus: Herbert Spencer and Social Darwinism p. 104
1. Why is social Darwinism a problematic theory?
2. How is social Darwinism connected to eugenics?
3. Would eugenics be supported by the Canadian government today?
4. What lessons can we learn?
Compare Marx to Weber…
Fundamental differences between Mills and Parsons?
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Reasons why Parson is too strict? Whom does he risk leaving behind in his views? Who does not have
voice in his ideal society?
What Is Social Behaviour?
 The interaction among members of the same group responding to external (observing people around
you) and internal (what you learned at home) stimuli
 Social Influence: effect of other people on a person’s thoughts and actions
 Measure frequency and classify the importance of influences on social behaviour (surveys)
 Direct: decision to date someone based on your family’s pressure
 Indirect: eating sushi with friends when you really want a burger
Social Influence
Family
 First force to shape an individual’s behaviour, values
 Caregivers teaching you how to behave in their absence through customs, rituals, interactions at
home so that you will reflect them in society
Gender
 Culturally constructed
 How we behave as either male or female is determined by the role given by society
The Language of Social Sciences
Sex and Gender p. 114
 How does society inform your ideas of gender?
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How do children’s toys reflect your society’s view of gender? Do toys reflect or reinforce a
society’s ideas about gender?
Culture
 Open for debate: Sikh RCMP p. 115
 Tradition, history, tv, music shape culture
Media
 27.6% of American social media users said their offline relationships benefitting from online
interaction using social media
 Social media – new forms of communication
Different Cultures, Different Greetings
 Hand shakes: firm to show confidence, self-assurance
 Greetings can only be generalized
 Tibetan: greet each other by sticking out their tongues
 Polynesian: place the other person’s hands on your face
 Inuit: rub noses
 Western European: Kiss the other person on the cheek
 Spit on each other, spit on hand before offering it to an elder
Socialization
 The process by which an individual learns the behavioural patterns, skills, and values of his/her social
world.
 Learning:
 Basic skills (physical care)
 Socially accepted goals (employment)
 Roles and behaviours (how to act appropriately)
 How values and norms are internalized
 Maslow equipped us with the ultimate road map of socialization which leads to self-actualization and
harmonious living
The Categories of Socialization
 Primary: teaching basic survival skills
 Secondary: how to act appropriately in group situations (church)
 Anticipatory: planning ahead for new situations
 Resocialization: transform old sometimes unacceptable behaviour into socially acceptable (parole
programs)
Socialization and Gender
 Children in N. Am. are encouraged to play with gender specific toys
 Sociologists consult different cultural models and experiences to determine how gender is
transmitted to children of diverse backgrounds
 Gender roles are internalized very early
 Taught at home by family
 Children experimenting with cross gender play are coming to understand their own gender role
better as well as others
 Article: Parents Keep Gender a Secret: Baby Storm Qs
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In Focus David Reimer: The Boy Who Lived as a Girl P. 267
What can we learn about gender roles from David’s story?
STOP HERE FOR QUIZ
Abnormal Socialization
 Children need to be raised in a nurturing environment that promotes physical, emotional, and
intellectual development.
 They need attention, encouragement and stimulation from a caregiver to develop self-esteem and be
a productive member of society
Child Abuse
 Forms:
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Physical
Sexual
Neglect
Emotional
Blackstock Boys Articles:
 Ontario to appeal sentence in caged boys case
 Years later, victim in Blackstock abuse case speaks out 'Resentment and rage' linger for youth abused
by guardians
Feral Children
 Children deserted at a young age and raised by animals
 Disney, DreamWorks examples:
 Jungle Book
 Tarzan
 Ice Age
 They take on the behaviours of the species that raise them perfectly imitating gestures and sounds
Oxana Malaya: Ukrainian Dog Girl between ages 3 – 8 spent much of her life interacting with her family dogs
in their backyard kennel
 She was fearful of humans, walked on all fours, barked, drank from a bowl, developmentally delayed
 At age 26 she could speak and was able to improve behaviour
 Children need to learn social skills at a young age (critical period)
Isolate Children
 Raised in near isolation within human households
 How does Harlow’s experiment relate to isolates?
Danielle
 July 2005 Plant City, Florida
 Neighbours suspect poor, unsafe living conditions
 A small girl’s face was noticed peeking out through the curtain of a window
 Authorities found a 3 yr old emaciated girl lying on a mattress covered in feces, insect bites, rashes,
sores, lice
 Lived in a darkened room, lying on a dirty mattress
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2 years later, after receiving medical treatments she was adopted into a loving family
Birth mother forbidden to see her
Learned how to walk, almost fully toilet trained, able to chew and swallow, learning about emotions,
what it means to be loved
Genie: Secret of the Wild Child p. 206 Chpt. 5
 In 1970, children’s authorities in California discovered a thirteen year old girl named Genie. Genie
had been kept in a locked room since she was twenty months old. Her father was aggressive, hated
children, and had probably murdered two of Genie’s siblings. Like Anna, Genie was completely
unsocialized. She could not chew her food, speak, stand upright, or even fully extend her arms and
legs. On an intelligence test, she scored at the normal level for a one year old.
 After considerable training, Genie did learn to walk and to speak in simple sentences but her
language was difficult to follow and was never expected to reach normal levels. In 1978, at the age of
twently-one, Genie was sent to a supported home for adults unable to live alone. She was not
expected to make any further progress in the development of either her personality or her social
skills.
 Identify some of the ethical issues that relates to Genie’s case management, and explain why they
raise ethical concerns.
Anna & Isabelle Cases
 Review cases and discuss chart
 Nell: Nature vs. Nurture
Agents of Socialization
 People and institutions that shape our behaviour and teach you how to participate
 Family
 Peer groups
 Workplace
 Media
 Religion
Primary Agent - The Family
 Meets most basic needs
 First introduction to right
and wrong, im/proper,
in/appropriate
 Crucial in early years of
development
 Family Structure and Socialization
 No such thing as a typical family
 All different types of family are equally important
Types of families
 Nuclear
 Extended
 Lone-parent
 Blended
 Same-sex
Vanier Institute of the Family
 Family: any combination of two or more people who are bound together over time by ties of mutual
consent, birth/adoption, placement and who together assume responsibilities for:
 Physical care and maintenance of members
 Addition – procreation or adoption
 Socialization of children
 Social control of members
 Production, consumption, distribution of goods and services
 Affective nurturance (love)
Secondary Agents
 Non-family people and institutions
School
 Transmit knowledge (curriculum) and skills
 Socializes: punctuality, self-reliance, teamwork, competitiveness, obedience through praise and
positive reinforcement
Peer Groups
 Provides opportunities to learn skills: communication, collaboration, compromise
 Social curriculum of schools: learn about gender and culture to establish relationships with others
 Teaching individuals about sexual relationships
 Susceptible to media influence
The Workplace
 First learn about work at home through chores, play, observation of parents who shape our attitudes
toward work
 Later experience part-time jobs or co-op placements
Media
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Young people learn from values, beliefs and behaviours exhibited by TV characters.
May stand in direct opposition to parents
TV, video games, internet taking away from time with others
New ways to connect to others around the world
Exposure to other cultures and ideas
Religion
 Fewer people are part of organized religions
 Religions have moral codes, set standards for behaviour, can teach social responsibility for others
(charity, social justice)
Canadian Social Institutionspgs. 434 - 445
Key terms:
 Social institution
 Social Change
 Social Institution: organization or social framework whose function is to meet the basic needs of its
members by providing direction and operating principles for society
 Promotes social cohesion
 Prison
 college
Functions of Social Institutions p. 434
 Satisfy the basic needs of its members (health care)
 Demonstrate dominant values and beliefs (Charter of Rights and Freedoms)
 Establish enduring patterns of social behaviour (child care)
 Define roles for individuals to emulate (husband and wife)
Social Institutions and Their Primary Goals
 How have your family and your education influenced your identity?
 Chart p. 435
 Family
 Religion
 Education
 Government
 Economy
Family
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Nuclear was the norm
Family is continuously changing
Attitudes toward parenting, marriage and family now include, lone-parent, same- sex
In all cultures family is responsible for promoting universal functions
Family is the blueprint for social norms and beliefs
The only institution to use nurturance and emotional support as a basis for all its relationships (selfesteem, creativity, self-confidence)
Well adjusted young adults emerge from family ready and capable of fully participating in other
institutions and society itself
Vanier Institute of the Family and Family Types p. 436
Religion
 Provides a sense of serenity and calm, helps celebrate important rituals of life, and provide support in
times of grief and personal tragedy
 Help explain the origins of the world, universal order that governs it and presence of good and evil
 Beliefs developed through initiation rites: baptism
 Natural phenomena (life and death) explained through attending prayer services, observing
important rites and learning sacred scripture
 Helps develop charity, compassion, altruism
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Organized religions create social cohesion and social conflict among believers and society
Host charity events, community meals, perform public service
Charity and good will extended to the entire community not just its members
Religious groups come together to promote peaceful resolution to global issues, alleviate social
inequality and injustice
Religious Affiliation and Attendance chart p. 438
15-29 yr olds religion highly important 2002: 34% 2009: 22%
Education
 Transmits knowledge, skills and social values
 Building blocks for the workplace
 Social and life management skills that lead to independence
 Education must represent all groups fairly and equitably
 Future of Education
 Features of Education p. 439
 Socialization and roles
 Discipline and obedience
 Knowledge and skills
 Competition and collaboration