Ch.1 The Sociological Perspective

Key Terms (44)common sense symbolic interactionism validity experiment

sociological perspective functional analysis reliability experimental group

society conflict theory survey control group

social location macro-level analysis population independent variable

science micro-level analysis sample dependent variable

positivism social interaction random sample unobtrusive measures

sociology nonverbal interaction respondents value free

class conflict hypothesis closed-ended questions values

social integration variable open-ended questions replication

applied sociology operational definition participant observation globalization

theory research method secondary analysis globalization of capitalism

Key People1. Auguste Compte (p.5-6)2. Herbert Spencer (p.6)3. Karl Marx (p.6-7)4. Emile Durkheim (p.7)5. Max Weber (p.7-8)6. Harriet Martineau (p.8)7. Albion Small (p.9)8. Jane Addams (p.9)9. W.E.B. DuBois (p.9-10)10. Talcott Parsons (p.11)11. C. Wright Mills (p.11)12. George Herbert Meade (p.13-15)13. Robert Merton (p.15-17)14. Mario Brajuha (p.29-30)15. Laud Humphreys (p.30)

Research Methods(aka Research Design)

1. Surveys2. Participant observation3. Secondary analysis4. Documents5. experiments6. Unobtrusive measures

What is Sociology?

• Think about the different rules & procedures each teacher presented to you. What was different? What was similar? Do those rules alter your behavior in each setting?

• Now broaden the scope – What are unique behaviors here at Hempfield?

What do sociologists do? • They examine how groups influence people, especially how

people are influenced by their society (vocab. sheet)

• Sociologists look at social location (vocab. sheet)

• Sociologists look at how jobs, income, education, gender, age, and race-ethnicity affect people’s ideas and behavior.

Conclusions: C. Wright Mills – The society in which we grow up and our particular location in that society lie at the center of what we do and what we think.

The way you look at the world is the result of your exposure to specific human groups.

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/sociologists.htm

THEREFORE:SOCIOLOGY IS…THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF SOCIETY AND HUMAN

BEHAVIOR

What Sociologist Do

• Application Activity: Think & list reasons why people commit suicide.

What assumptions do you have about gender and suicide?

Where do you believe suicide rates are more prevalent in the country?

Which age group do you suspect as having the highest rates of suicide?

• Look at the data in front of you.– What conclusions could you draw about gender and suicide?

– What conclusions could you draw about age and suicide?

– Why do you think more people commit suicide in the western part of U.S. Compared to eastern?

– Why is the rate of suicide (compared to population) so high in states like Alaska, Wyoming, or Montana?

U.S.A. Suicide: 2011 Official Final Data

COMPARING OVER TIME…

INTERNAL FACTORS vs. EXTERNAL FACTORS

People commit suicide because they are unhappy…– This is NOT a sociological theory. – Feelings (unhappiness) are internal factors that relate solely to

individual / Non-sociological…psychological

Sociological:– EXTERNAL factors (e.g. state/location, gender, age, income, race,

or education) that affect behavior are sociologic

Suicides Rise In Middle-Aged Men, And Older Men Remain At Riskby ALISON BRUZEK

September 10, 2014

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/09/10/347386843/suicides-rise-in-middle-aged-men-and-older-men-remain-at-risk

• Remember : Sociologists look at how jobs, income, education, gender, age,

and race-ethnicity affect people’s ideas and behavior.

Sociological Perspective: understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social

context

Could we analyze data on crimes in the same way as we did the suicide data? Pregnancy? Unemployment rates? Homelessness? Outreach programs?

The Solomon Asch Social Conformity Experiment

Thinking Sociologically:Is who you are a result of where you are?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIh4MkcfJA

Stanford Prison Experiment

Read “Tipping Point”

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9940824

'Lucifer Effect' Asks Why Good People Go Bad

http://www.zimbardo.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0jYx8nwjFQ (6:48)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jdOoxnr7AI (6:54)

The Unresponsive BystanderBy Bibb Latane & John Darley

What Really Happened to Kitty Genovese: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/03/284002294/what-really-happened-the-night-kitty-genovese-was-murdered

(8:09)

Investigate the Key Sociologists• Some of you were given a card with a number and

name/names of sociologists and a page number. You are to select your team (no more than 3 to a team), read about, and report out to the rest of the class their contributions to sociology.

• Comte pg.5 • Martineau pg.8

• Spencer pg.6 • Addams pg.9

• Marx pgs.6-7 • DuBois pgs.9-10

• Durkheim pg.7 • Parsons & Mills pg.11

• Weber pgs.7-8

Auguste Comteand positivism (p.5)

• Positivism – the application of the scientific approach to the social world

• What creates social order? What causes society to change? (French Revolution)

• Sociology – “the study of society “ – logos – “study of” – socius – “companion” or “being with

others”

• The founder of sociology

Herbert Spencerand Social Darwinism (pg.6)

• From “barbarian” to “civilized”

• The “fittest” survive while the less capable die out – “The survival of the fittest”

• Social Darwinism

Karl Marx and Class Conflict (p.6-7)

• Believed the demise of society was “class conflict” - bourgeoisie (capitalists) vs. proletariat (the mass of workers)

• Classless society – people work according to their abilities & receive goods and services according to their needs

• NOT the same as communism!

Emile Durkheim and Social Integration (p.7)

• Wanted to show how social forces affect people’s behavior.

• Compared rates of suicide in differing European countries– Unmarried, Protestant, males– Concluded that social factors

underlie suicide• social integration – the degree to

which people are tied to their social group– People who are less socially

integrated have higher rates of suicide

Max Weberand the Protestant Ethic (p.7-8)

• Religion, not economics (Marx) is the central force in social change.

• Roman Catholic = tradition Protestant = change

• Accumulated wealth & the frugal life lead to salvation

• The spirit of capitalism

Harriet Martineau and Early Social Research (p.8)

• “Hidden writings”• Preceded Durkheim &

Weber• Society in America –

customs, family, race, gender, politics, & religion

• Was mostly ignored because she was, well, a woman

Jane Addamsand Social Reform (p.9)

• Social reformer• Hull House in Chicago founded in

1889– Helped immigrants, the sick, elderly,

& poor• Recognized the gap between

powerful and powerless• Working conditions

– 8hr day– Child labor

• Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 (only sociologist to win the award)

W.E.B. DuBoisand Race Relations (p.9-10)

• First A.A. to earn a doctorate @ Harvard

• Wrote extensively on racial relations

• Founded the NAACP• Disillusioned, he left the

country for Ghana at age 93

Talcott Parsons & C.Wright MillsTheory Versus Reform (p.11)

• Parsons examined how the parts of society work together

• Mills warned of the power elite’s threat to freedom

Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology(pgs.13-18)

1. Symbolic Interactionism (vocab. #12) – society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, & communicate with one another

2. Functional Analysis (vocab. #13) – society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium

3. Conflict Theory (vocab. #14) – society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources

Examine Table 1.1 Major Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

Model of Research(p.19-22)

Your task: Get as many of your group members to remember the 8 basic steps in sociological research in order! Two people will judge for correctness.

8. Share

7. Analyze

6. Collect

5.Choose4. Formulate

3. Review2. Define

1. Select

Reading: Doing Social Research

• Reading – Doing Social ResearchDurkheim & suicide • Suicides Rise In Middle-Aged Men, And Older Men

Remain At Risk - http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/09/10/347386843/suicides-rise-in-middle-aged-men-and-older-men-remain-at-risk

Humphreys Latane & Darley – Unresponsive Bystander

HANDOUT: 8 Steps of the Research Model & related, application questions

6 Research Methods(p.22-29)

1. Surveys population, sample, random sample, respondents,

closed-ended & open-ended questions,

2. Participant Observation fieldwork

3. Secondary Analysis4. Documents5. Experiments

experimental & control group, independent & dependent variables

6. Unobtrusive Measures

Ray Rice Video Sets Off a Barrage of Conversations:http://

www.npr.org/2014/09/10/347305854/ray-rice-video-sets-off-barrage-of-twitter-conversations

Ethics in Sociological Research(p.29-31)

• Brajuha FIRE!!!! – You thought your notebook was important?

• Humphreys “Tea for two”

Max Weber stresses value free, but….!…which is why replication is important.

A FINAL NOTE-THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO, HMMMMMM!!:Please read the paragraph REVIEWING THE TENSION IN SOCIOLOGY (p.31).

ARTICLE: Historical cases of Unethical Research by Marsden & Melander