Sociology Notes 3

Society and Social Institutions
A. Society- a collection of interacting individuals sharing the same way of life (culture) and living in the same territory.
B. Fundamental Building Blocks of Society
1. Statuses: positions in society
a. Ascribed position- status given to us at birth or involuntary assigned later in life.
Ex: race, gender, social class
b. Achieved status- status obtained voluntarily by personal ability and effort.
Ex: college, graduate with Bachelors/Master’s degree.
c. Master status- highest status a person can obtain that is determined by society.
Ex: President of the United States of America
2. Roles- patterns of expected behavior that should align with one’s status in society
a. Prescribed Role- set of expectations about how a person with a particular status should behave.
b. Role Performance- how a person actually carries out a role.
3. Group- collection of people who interact with one another and have a feeling of unity; groups form when people carry out statuses and roles.
4. Social institutions- a set of widely shared beliefs, norms, and procedures necessary for meeting the basic needs of society. Social institutions do for us collectively what we as individuals are not able to do.
***The five most important social institutions: family, education, religion, economy, and politics***

Three Sociological Perspectives

(As stated before, this is not my work. This is notes from my teacher, and I do not know where he got them from.)

Three Paradigms/Perspectives of Sociology

1. Functional Perspective

Ideals: Focuses on social order where every part of society performs certain functions for society as a whole (all parts are interdependent and strive for homeostasis)

Supporters: Emile Durkheim, Herbert Spencer, Robert Mertin

**Social consensus (glue that binds together society) =social contract (what everyone is born into such as the Constitution of the United States)**

Social Consensus: the condition in which most members of society agree on what is good for everybody and cooperate to achieve it.

Types of Social Consensus: A) mechanical solidarity- much solidarity -> people who have similar beliefs, values, work and rely solely on themselves (common in traditional, rural, pre-industrial, agricultural societies.) or B) organic solidarity- people have specialized jobs and depend on others for society to function (ex: doctors, teachers, lawyers, etc. who have their own job and rely on others to do their job; common in industrial complex, urban, and post agricultural.)

Criticisms: This is a very conservative perspective, upholds status quo, focuses on positive functions of society, and ignores the negative aspects.


2. Conflict Perspective

Ideals: focuses on the ever-changing society and is marked by conflict that in the end, produces social change.

Supporters: Karl Marx (founder of the theory), and Max Weber

Basis of Theory: Struggle between the Capitalists (those who operate and control the means of production) and the Proletarians (laborers, workers)

Criticisms: Focuses on negative aspects/functions of society (the problems and injustices), not the positive and stable aspects.

3. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Ideals: focuses on the details of specific situations and interactions between people. Believes Human Behavior is always subject to change since our reactions are based upon others’ actions and our interpretation.

Supporters: George Herbert Meade (founder of theory), Edwin Sutherland, and Charles Lemert

Criticisms: Ignores the influence of larger social forces and larger issues of national international order and change.

**It is very important to understand these perspectives to fully understand sociological topics, as they are explained using these three perspectives.**

Sociology Notes

These are my sociology notes from class. I received them from my teacher, and God knows where he got them from. (I didn't copy word for word.) Oh, and I'm not purposefully plagiarizing, I do not own any rights to this, but if you wish to use it as information for yourself, Go for it!

What is sociology?

History and Development of Sociology

A. Sociology: the scientific and systematic study of human society. Sociology is based on scientific evidence, built upon observation, experimentation, verification, and generalization.

Sociological imagination, which allows us to observe in a general sense and to draw relationships between individual experiences and its affects on the outer world.

B.Reasons why we study sociology:
1. We can know ourselves better by studying others
2. We can study diversity (in race, sex, age, ethnicity, class.) to gain insight in how society works
3.Gain insight into our own society by studying other societies.

C. History and Development of Sociology

Sociology began in Europe in the 1800's after social upheaval in Europe (Industrialization). Sociology was originally developed to improve the world and apply scientific methods in a study of society.

Auguste Compte was deemed the "Father of Sociology" and coined the term "sociology" in 1838.

There are 3 stages in societal development; Theological (religious), metaphysical, and scientific. He proposed 2 branches in society. These were statics (study of the endurance of society) and dynamics (the study of a changing society)

Harriet Martineau: first woman sociologist who believed society would progress by eliminating inequality among the people (racial and gender equality specifically)

Herbert Spencer: Believed each part of the society performs its own function and contributes survival and stability of the whole and society can correct ANY problems by being left alone (survival of the fittest idea). He is a functionalist supporter.

Karl Marx: believed the primary features of society are conflict and competition. He is a conflict supporter.

Emile Durkheim: brought formal scientific methods for sociology. He is a functional supporter and originator.

Jane Addams: founder of sociology in the US; founder of the Hull house (a social and human service agency designed to help those in need who face inequality and give them an opportunity, provided childcare, job training, education, etc.)

Note: Sociology came to USA and was used in regard to solve specific problems (such as prostitution, and racial discrimination. Sociology became a major study during the 1960's with social unrest and upheaval due to the Civil Rights Movement.

Calm Down!

1. Count down from 60
Why? Focusing on something other then the stressor helps you relax a bit.

2. Eat fruit
Why? They release some serotonin and give you a burst of energy. Prunes are great for this.

3. Play with a toy
Why? Giving your hands something to do keeps your mind off anxiety.

4. Hug someone
Why? It reminds you that someone loves you.

5. Pretend you're on a trampoline
Why? It'll give you a bit of adreneline and make you laugh.

6. Daydream
Why? Your mind will be on a mental vacation so your body can become less tense.

7. Laugh
Why? It'll help you lighten up.

8. Freewrite
Why? It'll help you pin-point what's on your mind so you can take action.

9. Chew gum
Why? People who chew gum 4 days a week have reduced stress levels.

10. Focus on your breath
Why? You can relax your body and realize the stress isn't as important as the little things in life that make you happy.

Why do we always want to have the opposite of what we DO have?

Why do we always want to be the opposite of what we are?

Why is there a constant need for more (or less in some cases)?

Well...there is no complete answer. The best I can find and come up with, is that humankind is continually looking for new ways to achieve completeness. As a young child you may have asked a million questions every day. Why? Not only because you wanted to know the answer, but also so you could improve yourself and be able to ask other intelligent questions. The same goes for you as an adult (or any age really). Now you might be wondering, Why would I want to be Complete? Well not complete in the sense that you have 2 legs, 2 arms, 1 nose and so on. Complete as in, you have everything you ever wanted, wished for, or dreamt of. This not only includes tangible items, it can include intangible items like knowledge, or a certain skill.

If you believe in evolution, another reason to you might be that we are continually striving to stay alive and continue reproducing. As for any organism, mainly humans I'm talking about here, we always look for the negatives. Since it doesn't appear we're going to be going extinct any time soon, maybe we should lighten up. During the days of dinosaurs, hunting and gathering and hanging around caves all day we always had to make sure we wouldn't die. For most people, this is still the same. Many are afraid of death (as they should be..) so that they can continue to reproduce and keep the species alive. By recognizing negatives, we're able to keep them away or at least stop them from effecting our current lives. It's hardwired into our brains to continue recognizing the negatives, but we really have to stop.

Of course, not everything is going to be perfect. It never will be. But that shouldn't stop us from striving for it, right? Wrong. It's okay to an extent, but if you're suffering from perfectionism, it's time to stop and get help.

Back to the main idea, Why do we always want the opposite of what we have? Well, sometimes it appears to be the opposite but it's not really. It's just a different version of what we have. If the theory that there are an infinite number of other galaxy's like ours, all with absolute different outcomes, then it's true that somewhere you have gotten what you really wanted. Maybe it just wasn't...you that got it. Just a different version of you.

Any questions about my rambling? Any comments? I'd be happy to hear them.

Synethesia

Bouba/kiki Effect

-test that showed the human brain is somehow able to extract abstract properties from the shapes and sounds. (You can look it up if you want to know more)

Very much so like Synethesia, which is, according to Wikipedia, is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.

Mainly, Synethesia occurs naturally, where an individual thinks of one thing, and relates or associates it to other things that are completely unrelated. It's a usually pleasant phenomenon, but some say that it can cause sensory overload.

(Personally) This relates to the way we use colors and sounds in chorus. Lighter tones are happier, more free. Darker tones are a bit more bogged down, heavier, strong. Both can be used in good ways, but it depends on the mood of the song. Thus, emotion, color, and sound are all engaged in unrelated ways. We can sing a song in a light color, (usually a light blue) or in a dark color (midnight blue). It's very effective and most members of the chorus can hear the difference.

A totally different look at In sound → color Synesthesia, would include seeing different colors, like fire engine red or a calm light blue when listening to music. One might report seeing a gold sounds coming out of a harp, without even seeing the harp.

In case this isn't made clear, Synethesia is when a person actually sees the color and associates it with the certain topic/subject. Sometimes they report seeing it with their 'third eye' and only in their mind, but some say it is almost hallucinatory-like. Another interesting fact is that Synethesia isn't related to any psychological issues or diagnoses. Because most say it's pleasant or neutral occurrence and that it doesn't bother them, most don't know it's happening, or that there's a name for it. Despite it not being a problem for those that have it, Synethesia is being studied. Most who have it consider it a gift and do not see it as a disorder or problem for them.


So why does this occur?
It's not known quite yet. I'll keep you updated though =]