2/6/24,h2:28hAM Sociologyh-
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
Chapterh1-hTheoryh&hMethods
SocialhTheory
Socialhtheorieshintenthtohexplain,hnothwhathishhappening,hbuthwhy.
Thereharehmanyhtheoreticalhapproacheshtohsociology:hsociologistshdohnothallhagreehonhanyhgiv
enhtopic,hbuththeorieshmusthbehbasedhonhfacts.
Researchhandhtheoryhcannot,handhshouldhnot,hbehseparatehenterprises.hAug
ustehComte
● Frenchhphilosopherhwhohishcreditedhashtheh“fatherhofhsociology”
● Believedhinhcreatinghahsciencehofhthehsocialhworldhtohbehusedhforhimprovinghpeople’shlives
EmilehDurkheim
● Functionalism
● societyhneedshallhitshpartshtohfunctionhinhharmony
● Aspectshofhsocialhlifeh(economy,hreligion,hetc.)hshapehindividualhaction
● anomie-hnormlessness
KarlhMarx
● Marxhlookedhmostlyhaththeheconomyhtohexplainhsocialhchange.
● Materialisth conceptionh ofh history-h economyhdriveshsocialhchange
MaxhWeber
● Sawhpowerhinhbothhtheheconomyhashwellhashideashandhvalues.
● ChristianityhandhProtestanthworkhethichplayshanhimportanthrolehinhthehdevelopment
hofhcapitalism.
HarriethMartineau
● studiedhdomestichlifehtohbetterhunderstandhahsociety
● women’shrightsh&hemancipationhofhslaves
W.E.B.hDuhBois
● 1sthsignificanthblackhsociologist
● “doublehconsciousness”h-hblackshsubconsciouslyhfeelhinferiorhtohwhites
● foundinghmemberhofhNAACP
Contemporaryh Theory
SymbolichInteractionism
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,2/6/24,h2:28hAM Sociologyh-
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
● SocialhInteractionhinvolveshexchangehofhinfohviahsymbols
● Mayhbehthroughhnon-verbalhorhconveyedhbyhsetting
● learnhabouthourselveshandhthehworldhthroughhthishmeaningfulhinteraction
● GeorgehHerberthMead-hprominenthcharacterhinhsymbolichinteractionism
Functionalismh Mar
xism
● Capitalismh&h economich systems
FeministshTheoryh
PostmodernhTheor
y
● media
● socialhlifehconstantlyhinhflux
Macrosociology-heveryday,hface-to-
facehinteraction;hsymbolichinteractionistshstudyhprimarilyhstudy.h Conflicthperspective;hFeministh
theory.
Microsociology-h analysishofhlargehsocialhsystemsh&hinstitutions.hFunctionalistsh&hMarxists.
Sociologyhmusthtakehanhempiricalhapproachhtohansweringhquestionshabouththehworld,hashahso
cialhscience.
Sociologistshaskhfourhprimaryhtypeshofhquestions:hfactual,hcomparative,hdevelopmental,handhth
eoretical.
ResearchhMethods:h7hsteps
1. definehthehproblem
2. reviewhthehevidence-hliteraturehreview
3. makehthehproblemhprecise-hspecifyhthehhypothesis
4. workhouthahresearchhdesign
5. carryhouththehresearch
6. interpreththehresults
7. reporththehfindings
● Ethnography,horhparticipanthobservation,hishahmethodhfrequentlyhusedhtohstudyhpeople
hinhtheirhownhsettings.
● Surveysharehahmorehstructuredhresearchhmethodhwherehspecific,hcarefullyhconstruct
edhquestionsharehaskedhtohspecific,hcarefullyhselectedhindividuals.
● Sociologistshoccasionallyh usehexperimentalhdesignshwhenh highlyhcontrolledhconditions
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,2/6/24,h2:29hAM Sociologyh-
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
areh necessaryhtohanswerh researchhquestions.
● Comparativehandhhistoricalhresearchharehapproacheshthathallowhresearchersh
tohunderstandhvariationshinhsocialhphenomenahacrosshbothhtimehandhspace.
● Becausehsociologistsharehdealinghwithhrealhpeoplehinhtheirheverydayhlives,hwehmusthbe
veryhcautioushinhourhwork.
● Allhresearchhthathdirectlyhinvolveshhumanhsubjectshmusthfirsthbehapprovedhby
hanhInstitutionalhReviewhBoardh(IRB).
● Studyhparticipantshmusthgivehinformedhconsenthpriorhtohagreeinghtohparticipatehandhmust
behdebriefedhafter.
Chapterh2-hCulturehandhSociety
● Culturehishahsethofhvalues,hnorms,handhbehaviorshsharedhbyhahsocialhgroup
● Valuesharehthosehidealshthathahsocietyhholdshabovehallhothersh(e.g.,hhonesty,hhonor).
● Thesehvaluesharehthehbuildinghblockshofhnorms,hwhichharehbasichruleshofhsocialhconduct.
● Anotherhparthofhculturehishthehmaterialhobjectshwehcreate
● Culturehalsohencapsulateshthehwayhofhlifehofhahsocialhgroup.
● AnnhSwidlerh(1986)hdescribedhahculturalh―toolkithfromhwhichhwehcanhchooseht
hehappropriatehtools—values,hnorms,hpractices—hforhanyhsocialhsituation.
● Keyhpoint:hculturehishlearned,hnothinstinctualhorhinherited.
CulturalhVariations
● Culturehvarieshbothhacrosshandhwithinhsocieties
● Whathishimportanthandhseeminglyh―normalhinhonehsocietyhmayhnothbehinhanother.
● Evenhwithinhahsociety,hthehdominanthvalueshandhnormshchangehoverhtime.
Society
● Societiesharehsystemshofhrelationshipshbetweenhpeople.
● Societieshconsisthofhmembershthathsharehsomehsensehofhcommonhidentityhandhbehs
mallh(likehahfamily)horhlargeh(likehahnation-state).
● Sharedhculturehishimportanthinhholdinghahsocietyhtogether.
Conformityh andhSocialh Control
● Societieshneedhahsignificanthdegreehofhconformityhtohfunctionhsmoothly.
● Membershlearnhnormshthroughhthehprocesshofhsocialization.
● Becausehpeoplehaccepththehnormshandhvalueshofhtheirhsocietieshashnatural,htheyhlarg
elyhconform.
● Thosehwhohdohnothconformharehsubjecthtohmeasureshofhsocialhcontrol.
Whathmakeshhumanshdifferent
● Cultureh versush instinct
● Thehabilityhtohreason,htohthinkhinhthehabstract,hallowedhforhthehdevelopmenthofhculture.
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, 2/6/24,h2:29hAM Sociologyh-
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
● Thishincludedhthehdevelopmenthofhcomplexhsystemshofhcommunicationhandhfutur
e-horientedhthoughthandhplanning.
● Complexhthinkinghalsohmakeshhumanshstronghinnovators.
NaturehorhNurture?
● Sociologistshtodayhlargelyhagreehthaththehsocialhenvironmenthinteractshwithhbiology.
● Evenh so,hwehstronglyhresisththehideahthathgeneticshpredeterminehanhindividual’shsocialh
lifehandhpotentialities.
NaturehandhNurture
● Sociologistshnowhstudyhhowhnaturehandhnurturehinteracthtohproducehparticularhbehaviors.
● Thehinteresthinhnurturehhashledhtohanhongoinghfocushonhthehimportancehofhsocialization.
● Examininghculturalhvariationhoffershevidencehofhthehrolehofhthehsocialhinhexplaininghhu
manhbehaviorshandhvalues.
CulturalhDiversity
● Studyinghdiversityhishveryhimportanthforhsociologists;hcomparativehresearchhishcommon.
● Thingshtohbehawarehof:
○ Ethnocentrism—viewinghone’shownhculturehashnormalhand,hoftentimes,hsuperior
○ Culturalh relativism—
judginghotherhcultureshbasedhonhtheirhownhnormshandhstandards
● Diversityhwithinhsocietieshishalsohimportant.
● Thereharehthehobvioushkindshofhsocialhgroupsh(e.g.hrace,hgender,hreligion)hthathconstitut
ehahsociety,hbuththereharehalsohsubcultures.
● Ahsubculturehishahgrouphwhosehnormshandhvalueshdifferhfromhthosehofhtheh“mainstream.”
DiversityhToday
● InhdiversehsocietieshlikehthehUnitedhStates,hstudieshofhassimilationhandhmulticulturali
smharehcommon.
● Thesehstudieshattempthtohunderstandhhowhdiversehsocietiesh(andhthehindividualshinhthe
m)hcanhbesthfunction.
● Globalizationhhashledhtohincreasedhdiversityhinhmosthcountrie
s.hCulturalhUniversals
● Socialhinstitutionshfoundhinhvirtuallyhallhsocietiesharehcalledhculturalhuniversals.
● Languageh ishonehofhthehmosthsignificanthculturalhuniversalsh(othershincludehmarriageha
ndhart).
● Languagesharehcomplexhsystemshofhcommunication,hwhichharehfundamentalhtohhuman
socialhlifehashtheyhfreehushfromhourhimmediatehenvironments.
Pre-modernh society
● Huntinghandhgatheringhsocietieshwerehthehdominanthsocialhformhforhmosthofhhum
anhhistory.
● Relativelyhegalitarian,hwithhnohclasshstructuresh–hCooperativehratherhthanhcompetitive
about:blank 4/48
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
Chapterh1-hTheoryh&hMethods
SocialhTheory
Socialhtheorieshintenthtohexplain,hnothwhathishhappening,hbuthwhy.
Thereharehmanyhtheoreticalhapproacheshtohsociology:hsociologistshdohnothallhagreehonhanyhgiv
enhtopic,hbuththeorieshmusthbehbasedhonhfacts.
Researchhandhtheoryhcannot,handhshouldhnot,hbehseparatehenterprises.hAug
ustehComte
● Frenchhphilosopherhwhohishcreditedhashtheh“fatherhofhsociology”
● Believedhinhcreatinghahsciencehofhthehsocialhworldhtohbehusedhforhimprovinghpeople’shlives
EmilehDurkheim
● Functionalism
● societyhneedshallhitshpartshtohfunctionhinhharmony
● Aspectshofhsocialhlifeh(economy,hreligion,hetc.)hshapehindividualhaction
● anomie-hnormlessness
KarlhMarx
● Marxhlookedhmostlyhaththeheconomyhtohexplainhsocialhchange.
● Materialisth conceptionh ofh history-h economyhdriveshsocialhchange
MaxhWeber
● Sawhpowerhinhbothhtheheconomyhashwellhashideashandhvalues.
● ChristianityhandhProtestanthworkhethichplayshanhimportanthrolehinhthehdevelopment
hofhcapitalism.
HarriethMartineau
● studiedhdomestichlifehtohbetterhunderstandhahsociety
● women’shrightsh&hemancipationhofhslaves
W.E.B.hDuhBois
● 1sthsignificanthblackhsociologist
● “doublehconsciousness”h-hblackshsubconsciouslyhfeelhinferiorhtohwhites
● foundinghmemberhofhNAACP
Contemporaryh Theory
SymbolichInteractionism
about:blank 1/48
,2/6/24,h2:28hAM Sociologyh-
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
● SocialhInteractionhinvolveshexchangehofhinfohviahsymbols
● Mayhbehthroughhnon-verbalhorhconveyedhbyhsetting
● learnhabouthourselveshandhthehworldhthroughhthishmeaningfulhinteraction
● GeorgehHerberthMead-hprominenthcharacterhinhsymbolichinteractionism
Functionalismh Mar
xism
● Capitalismh&h economich systems
FeministshTheoryh
PostmodernhTheor
y
● media
● socialhlifehconstantlyhinhflux
Macrosociology-heveryday,hface-to-
facehinteraction;hsymbolichinteractionistshstudyhprimarilyhstudy.h Conflicthperspective;hFeministh
theory.
Microsociology-h analysishofhlargehsocialhsystemsh&hinstitutions.hFunctionalistsh&hMarxists.
Sociologyhmusthtakehanhempiricalhapproachhtohansweringhquestionshabouththehworld,hashahso
cialhscience.
Sociologistshaskhfourhprimaryhtypeshofhquestions:hfactual,hcomparative,hdevelopmental,handhth
eoretical.
ResearchhMethods:h7hsteps
1. definehthehproblem
2. reviewhthehevidence-hliteraturehreview
3. makehthehproblemhprecise-hspecifyhthehhypothesis
4. workhouthahresearchhdesign
5. carryhouththehresearch
6. interpreththehresults
7. reporththehfindings
● Ethnography,horhparticipanthobservation,hishahmethodhfrequentlyhusedhtohstudyhpeople
hinhtheirhownhsettings.
● Surveysharehahmorehstructuredhresearchhmethodhwherehspecific,hcarefullyhconstruct
edhquestionsharehaskedhtohspecific,hcarefullyhselectedhindividuals.
● Sociologistshoccasionallyh usehexperimentalhdesignshwhenh highlyhcontrolledhconditions
about:blank 2/48
,2/6/24,h2:29hAM Sociologyh-
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
areh necessaryhtohanswerh researchhquestions.
● Comparativehandhhistoricalhresearchharehapproacheshthathallowhresearchersh
tohunderstandhvariationshinhsocialhphenomenahacrosshbothhtimehandhspace.
● Becausehsociologistsharehdealinghwithhrealhpeoplehinhtheirheverydayhlives,hwehmusthbe
veryhcautioushinhourhwork.
● Allhresearchhthathdirectlyhinvolveshhumanhsubjectshmusthfirsthbehapprovedhby
hanhInstitutionalhReviewhBoardh(IRB).
● Studyhparticipantshmusthgivehinformedhconsenthpriorhtohagreeinghtohparticipatehandhmust
behdebriefedhafter.
Chapterh2-hCulturehandhSociety
● Culturehishahsethofhvalues,hnorms,handhbehaviorshsharedhbyhahsocialhgroup
● Valuesharehthosehidealshthathahsocietyhholdshabovehallhothersh(e.g.,hhonesty,hhonor).
● Thesehvaluesharehthehbuildinghblockshofhnorms,hwhichharehbasichruleshofhsocialhconduct.
● Anotherhparthofhculturehishthehmaterialhobjectshwehcreate
● Culturehalsohencapsulateshthehwayhofhlifehofhahsocialhgroup.
● AnnhSwidlerh(1986)hdescribedhahculturalh―toolkithfromhwhichhwehcanhchooseht
hehappropriatehtools—values,hnorms,hpractices—hforhanyhsocialhsituation.
● Keyhpoint:hculturehishlearned,hnothinstinctualhorhinherited.
CulturalhVariations
● Culturehvarieshbothhacrosshandhwithinhsocieties
● Whathishimportanthandhseeminglyh―normalhinhonehsocietyhmayhnothbehinhanother.
● Evenhwithinhahsociety,hthehdominanthvalueshandhnormshchangehoverhtime.
Society
● Societiesharehsystemshofhrelationshipshbetweenhpeople.
● Societieshconsisthofhmembershthathsharehsomehsensehofhcommonhidentityhandhbehs
mallh(likehahfamily)horhlargeh(likehahnation-state).
● Sharedhculturehishimportanthinhholdinghahsocietyhtogether.
Conformityh andhSocialh Control
● Societieshneedhahsignificanthdegreehofhconformityhtohfunctionhsmoothly.
● Membershlearnhnormshthroughhthehprocesshofhsocialization.
● Becausehpeoplehaccepththehnormshandhvalueshofhtheirhsocietieshashnatural,htheyhlarg
elyhconform.
● Thosehwhohdohnothconformharehsubjecthtohmeasureshofhsocialhcontrol.
Whathmakeshhumanshdifferent
● Cultureh versush instinct
● Thehabilityhtohreason,htohthinkhinhthehabstract,hallowedhforhthehdevelopmenthofhculture.
about:blank 3/48
, 2/6/24,h2:29hAM Sociologyh-
hProfessorhFernandohRivera
● Thishincludedhthehdevelopmenthofhcomplexhsystemshofhcommunicationhandhfutur
e-horientedhthoughthandhplanning.
● Complexhthinkinghalsohmakeshhumanshstronghinnovators.
NaturehorhNurture?
● Sociologistshtodayhlargelyhagreehthaththehsocialhenvironmenthinteractshwithhbiology.
● Evenh so,hwehstronglyhresisththehideahthathgeneticshpredeterminehanhindividual’shsocialh
lifehandhpotentialities.
NaturehandhNurture
● Sociologistshnowhstudyhhowhnaturehandhnurturehinteracthtohproducehparticularhbehaviors.
● Thehinteresthinhnurturehhashledhtohanhongoinghfocushonhthehimportancehofhsocialization.
● Examininghculturalhvariationhoffershevidencehofhthehrolehofhthehsocialhinhexplaininghhu
manhbehaviorshandhvalues.
CulturalhDiversity
● Studyinghdiversityhishveryhimportanthforhsociologists;hcomparativehresearchhishcommon.
● Thingshtohbehawarehof:
○ Ethnocentrism—viewinghone’shownhculturehashnormalhand,hoftentimes,hsuperior
○ Culturalh relativism—
judginghotherhcultureshbasedhonhtheirhownhnormshandhstandards
● Diversityhwithinhsocietieshishalsohimportant.
● Thereharehthehobvioushkindshofhsocialhgroupsh(e.g.hrace,hgender,hreligion)hthathconstitut
ehahsociety,hbuththereharehalsohsubcultures.
● Ahsubculturehishahgrouphwhosehnormshandhvalueshdifferhfromhthosehofhtheh“mainstream.”
DiversityhToday
● InhdiversehsocietieshlikehthehUnitedhStates,hstudieshofhassimilationhandhmulticulturali
smharehcommon.
● Thesehstudieshattempthtohunderstandhhowhdiversehsocietiesh(andhthehindividualshinhthe
m)hcanhbesthfunction.
● Globalizationhhashledhtohincreasedhdiversityhinhmosthcountrie
s.hCulturalhUniversals
● Socialhinstitutionshfoundhinhvirtuallyhallhsocietiesharehcalledhculturalhuniversals.
● Languageh ishonehofhthehmosthsignificanthculturalhuniversalsh(othershincludehmarriageha
ndhart).
● Languagesharehcomplexhsystemshofhcommunication,hwhichharehfundamentalhtohhuman
socialhlifehashtheyhfreehushfromhourhimmediatehenvironments.
Pre-modernh society
● Huntinghandhgatheringhsocietieshwerehthehdominanthsocialhformhforhmosthofhhum
anhhistory.
● Relativelyhegalitarian,hwithhnohclasshstructuresh–hCooperativehratherhthanhcompetitive
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