Sociology
9th Grade Social Studies
What is sociology?
Sociology is the study of people in
groups
What groups do we have in
society?
 In sociology the groups we belong to are referred to as
‘institutions’:
 The Economy – distribution of goods/services
 The Government (politics) – allocation of power and authority
 Education – teaching values and skills
 Family – teaching values; procreation; affection
 Religion – high morality
Behavior in groups
 Norms – agreed upon behaviors on how to act
 Folkways – less significant; manners; forms of politeness
 Examples: please, thank you’s, chewing with your mouth full, holding the
door open, calling me Mrs. Anderson
 Mores – behaviors that deal with moral standards; more severe
 Examples: lying, cheating and stealing
 Laws – most significant; punishable by law enforcement
 Examples: stealing, speeding, murder, drugs, arson, jaywalking, wearing
your seatbelt, no texting while driving, assault, armed robbery
Priority of groups
 Primary – small, intimate, close groups
 Examples would be family and close friends
 Secondary – larger groups; don’t have as tight of an
emotional bond as primary groups; share common values
 Examples would be co-workers, congregation members, club
members, teammates
Social Structure
 Status – position within a social system
 Ascribed – characteristics over which there is little to no control
(age, sex, race, etc.)
 Achieved – characteristics which involve personal choice and
achievement (job, educational level, etc.)
 Role – behaviors or norms attached to a specific status
 Role conflict – competition between different roles (study
for a test or go to the beach)
 Role strain – difficulty adjusting to competing demands of
different roles (working mothers)
Power of the group
 Conformity – willingness to go along and do what the
group does
 Deviance – behavior that is against that of the group norms
 Could be behavior that is against that of the dominant norms of
society
Social Class
 Upper Class – often inherited wealth; corporate
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ownership; elite education
Upper Middle Class – earned; salaried income;
professionals; extensive education
Lower Middle Class – median income; white collar sales
and clerical jobs; some college
Working Class – hourly wage; blue collar jobs; high school
education
Lower Class – very low income; unskilled or unemployed;
lack of education
Poverty