Human Behavior 091309

Front 1

Class Conflict

Back 1

the struggle between capitalists/bourgeoise (who own the means of production) and the proletariat (people who don't)

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Conflict Perspective

Back 2

-Def = portrays society as always changing and always marked by conflict

-General view of conflict:
---sees social change as beneficial
---started with Karl Marx's writings about the Capitalists and proletariat
---More powerful classes gain more than less powerful

-Marx and Mills

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Latent Function vs. manifest function

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-Manifest functions = functions intended and seem obvious (ex: going to college to get an education)

-Latent functions = unintended and often unrecognized (going to college and finding your spouse)

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Organic Solidarity vs. mechanical solidarity

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-Mechanical solidarity = a type of social cohesion that develops when people do similar work and have similar beliefs and values

-Organic solidarity = a type of social cohesion that arises when the people in a society perform a wide variety of specialized jobs and depend on each other

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social consensus

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A condition in which most members of the society agree on what would be good for everybody and cooperate to achieve it

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social forces

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-the pressures of influences from society that shape a person's life

examples = grades, sports, leadership, popularity

nature theory = mind is blank states that can be shaped

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social integration

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-the degree to which people are tied to a social group

-great impact on suicide

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sociological imagination

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-C. Wright Mills = use sociology to see and master the social forces that shape your life

- Peter Berger = "the power elite"
---things are not what they seem to be

-how you interpret events makes the meaning of the event = self fulfilling prophecy

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sociology

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-The scientific study of human social behavior or the systematic study of human society
---anything that someone does = (eating or sleeping)

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structural functionalism

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-stable, well integrated

-macro

-maintained through consensus and cooperation

-Durkheim, Merton, Comte, Spencer

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Symbolic interactionism

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-Basic Idea = People interact with each other by interpreting the meaning of each other's actions instead of merely reacting to each other's actions

---our responses are thus based on the meaning we give to other's words, gestures, clothes, facial expressions, etc.

-verstehen, george mead, charles cooley,

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hypothesis vs. theory

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-hypothesis = tentative statement of how various events are related

-theory = set of logically related hypotheses that explains the relationship among various phenomena

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verstehen

Back 13

empathetic understanding of their subjects

Front 14

anomic vs. fatalistic

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-anomic = when society lacks rules (great depression)

-fatalistic = lives are too regulated (prisons)

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egoistic vs. altruistic

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-egoistic = feels little connection (no money, no friends, lives in a motel)

-altruistic = dies to protect others

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typology

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a tool that puts things in charts to compare/understand data

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detached vs. participant observation

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-detached = observe as outsiders, from a distance, without getting involved
---less likely affected by observer
---hard to understand communication among subjects

-participant = researchers take part in the activities of the group they are studying

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hawthorne effect

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the unintended impact of the researcher's presence on subjects behavior

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ethnography

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-an analysis of people's lives from their own perspective

-focuses more on meanings (what people think, believe, ponder)

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variant subculture vs. deviant subculture

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-variant = merely differ from the dominant culture in some way. Their values are still basically acceptable to the society as a whole

-deviant = values that are unacceptable to the dominant culture and are generally considered illegal (gangs, drug users, prostitutes)

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social group

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-a collection of people who interact with one another and have a certain feeling of unity

-can be a family, a class, or two businesspersons trying to strike a deal

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in group vs. out group

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-In = is the group to which an individual is strongly tied as a member

-Out = is the group to which an individual is not a member

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reference group

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-a group that is used as the frame of reference for evaluating one's own behavior

---normative = gang members who all feel proud and successful by mugging, a positive self evaluation (share the same view of themselves)

---comparative = comparing with peers (smart kids in your class, you might feel less of yourself

---associative = based on the people you are associated with (smart kids in your class, you might feel smart to be associated with them.

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primary vs. secondary

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-Primary = a group whose members interact informally, relate to each other as whole persons, and enjoy their relationship for its own sake (family, friends, neighbors)

-Secondary = a group whose members interact formally, relate to each other as players of particular roles, and expect to profit from each other (sales clerk and customer)

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instrumental vs. expressive vs. laissez faire leaders

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-Instrumental leaders =
those who achieve their group's goal by getting others to focus on task performance (“let's get to work!”)

-expressive leaders =
achieve group harmony by making others feel good
more concerned with members' feelings, making sure that everybody is happy, so that cohesiveness can reign in that group

-laissez faire leaders =
lets others do their work more or less on their own
little or no social support

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idiosyncrasy credit

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-leaders are allowed the privilege that allows them to deviate from their group's norms.

-But the rest of the group is supposed to conform

-some people go along with the majority even though they may disagree

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groupthink

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-the tendency for members of a cohesive group to maintain consensus to the extent of ignoring the truth.

-May lead to disastrous decisions, with tragic consequences

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dyad vs. triad

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-dyad = contains two people. ---Members are inclined to be mostpersonal and to interact most intensely with each other

-triad = three people.
---If one leaves, it can still survive
---makes it possible for two people to gang up on the third or for one member to patch up a quarrel between the other two
---loses intimacy compared to dyad

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A. Comte

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(functionalist)

-made up the name sociology

-goal: to use science to make society progress peacefully

-law of 3 stages: religion, metaphysical, sci”organismic analogy”

-all parts of society interdependent; conservative

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H. Spencer

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-combined Comte's views with Darwin's theory of evolution

-Principles of Sociology: society is a big social organism governed by natural laws

-It'll be stable and harmonious if you let it regulate itself

-the weak die out and strong survive = “survival of the fittest”

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R. Merton

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- Manifest and Latent functions

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E. Durkheim

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-1st to use sci. method – observe, be objective

-suicide study used pop. And religious data

-mechanical vs. organic solidarity

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M. Weber

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-concept of Verstehen (“empathetic understanding”). Why is this person acting this way?

-objective study is insufficient, need to know feelings and thoughts

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H. Martineau

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-first woman sociologist

-translated and edited Comte's writing

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George Mead

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-1 of the first American sociologists.

-argued that our personalities are shaped by the way we think others see us

-our view of our self emerges from interaction with parents, “significant others” etc.

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Charles Cooley

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-“Looking glass self”

-our self image develops from how we think others perceive us

-he also developed the distinction between “primary and secondary groups”

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American vs. European

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A = more practical

E = macro/idealistic

Front 38

Feminist Theory

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-a form of conflict theory that explains human life from the experiences of women

-bearing for infants is more feminist causing them to be less respected than more violent masculine traits

-Compared with men, women have less power, freedom, respect and money

-women are oppressed, restrained, subordinated, controlled, molded, or abused

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Social Marginality

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-being excluded from mainstream society

---such as racial or ethnic minorities = women, the poor, the homeless, older persons, gays, people with disabilities, etc.

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K. Marx

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-His communist philosophy arose out of his view that society is always in a constant state of struggle – rich vs. poor

-Communist Manifesto: argues the solution require violent revolution and then complete regulation of society by the gov't.

-Bourgeoise vs. proletariat

-Modern marxists focus less on economics and argue for social and political equality

-feminists theories, civil rights, gay rights