Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
KEY PEOPLE
Review the major theoretical contributions or research findings of these theorists and thinkers.
James Coleman and Thomas Hoffer: A study of students in Catholic and public high schools by these two sociologists demonstrated that performance was based on setting higher standards for students rather than on individual ability. (353)
Randall Collins: Collins studied the credential society. (342)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore: Davis and Moore argue that a major task of society is to fill social positions with capable people and that one of the functions of schools is gatekeeping—the funneling of people into these positions on the basis of merit. (348)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim investigated world religions and identified elements that are common to all religions: separation of sacred from profane, beliefs about what is sacred, practices surrounded the sacred, and a moral community. (354–355)
George Farkas: Farkas and a team of researchers investigated how teacher expectations affect student grades. They found that students signal teachers that they are good students by being eager, cooperative and working hard. (351)
Benton Johnson: Johnson analyzed types of religious groups: cults, sects, churches, and ecclesia. (361–362)
Karl Marx: Marx was critical of religion, calling it the opium of the masses. (359–360)
Richard Niebuhr: This theologian suggested that the splintering of Christianity into numerous branches has more to do with social change than with religious conflict. (366–367)
Talcott Parsons: Another functionalist who suggested that a function of schools is to funnel people into social positions. (348)
Liston Pope: Another sociologist who studied types of religious groups. (361–362)
Ray Rist: This sociologist’s classic study of an African American grade school uncovered some of the dynamics of educational tracking. (350–351)
Thomas Sowell: Sowell has studied international differences in student performance. (351)
Ernst Troeltsch: Yet another sociologist who is associated with types of religious groups from cults to ecclesia. (361–362)
Max Weber: Weber studied the link between Protestantism and the rise of capitalism and found that the ethic associated with Protestant denominations was compatible with the needs of capitalism. (360)
James Coleman and Thomas Hoffer: A study of students in Catholic and public high schools by these two sociologists demonstrated that performance was based on setting higher standards for students rather than on individual ability. (353)
Randall Collins: Collins studied the credential society. (342)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore: Davis and Moore argue that a major task of society is to fill social positions with capable people and that one of the functions of schools is gatekeeping—the funneling of people into these positions on the basis of merit. (348)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim investigated world religions and identified elements that are common to all religions: separation of sacred from profane, beliefs about what is sacred, practices surrounded the sacred, and a moral community. (354–355)
George Farkas: Farkas and a team of researchers investigated how teacher expectations affect student grades. They found that students signal teachers that they are good students by being eager, cooperative and working hard. (351)
Benton Johnson: Johnson analyzed types of religious groups: cults, sects, churches, and ecclesia. (361–362)
Karl Marx: Marx was critical of religion, calling it the opium of the masses. (359–360)
Richard Niebuhr: This theologian suggested that the splintering of Christianity into numerous branches has more to do with social change than with religious conflict. (366–367)
Talcott Parsons: Another functionalist who suggested that a function of schools is to funnel people into social positions. (348)
Liston Pope: Another sociologist who studied types of religious groups. (361–362)
Ray Rist: This sociologist’s classic study of an African American grade school uncovered some of the dynamics of educational tracking. (350–351)
Thomas Sowell: Sowell has studied international differences in student performance. (351)
Ernst Troeltsch: Yet another sociologist who is associated with types of religious groups from cults to ecclesia. (361–362)
Max Weber: Weber studied the link between Protestantism and the rise of capitalism and found that the ethic associated with Protestant denominations was compatible with the needs of capitalism. (360)
KEY TERMS
After studying the chapter, review each of the following terms.
born again: a term describing Christians who have undergone a life-transforming religious experience so radical that they feel they have become a “new person” (359)
charisma: an extraordinary gift from God; more commonly, an outstanding, “magnetic” personality (361)
charismatic leader: literally, someone to whom God has given an extraordinary gift; more commonly, someone who exerts extraordinary appeal to a group of followers (361)
church: to Durkheim, one of the three essential elements of religion—a moral community of believers; used by other sociologists to refer to a highly organized religious organization (355)
cosmology: teachings or ideas that provide a unified picture of the world (359)
credential society: a group that uses diplomas and degrees to determine who is eligible for jobs even though the diploma or degree may be irrelevant to the actual work (342)
cult: a new religion with few followers, whose teachings are practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion (361)
cultural transmission: in reference to education, the ways by which schools transmit culture, especially its core values (346)
ecclesia: a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off (362)
functional illiteracy: people having difficulty with basic reading and math even though they have graduated from high school (352)
gatekeeping: the process by which education opens and closes doors of opportunity; another term for the social placement function of education (348)
grade inflation: higher grades for the same work; a general rise in student grades without a corresponding increase in learning or test scores (352)
hidden curriculum: the unwritten goals of schools, such as teaching obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms (349)
latent functions: the positives consequences that people did not intend their actions to accomplish (346)
mainstreaming: helping people to become part of the mainstream of society (347–348)
manifest functions: the positive things that people intend their actions to accomplish (346)
profane: Durkheim’s term for common elements of everyday life (354)
Protestant ethic: Weber’s term to describe the ideal of a self-denying, moral life, accompanied by hard work and frugality (360)
religion: to Emile Durkheim, beliefs and practices that separate the profane from the sacred and unite its adherents into a moral community (355)
religious experience: awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God (359)
rituals: ceremonies or repetitive practices; in this context, religious observances or ties, often intended to evoke a sense of awe of the sacred (358)
sacred: Durkheim’s term for things that are set apart or forbidden, that inspire fear, awe, reverence, or deep respect (354)
sect: a group larger than a cult that whose members feel hostility from and toward society (362)
secularization of religion: the replacement of a religion’s “otherworldly” concerns with concerns about “this world” (367)
social placement: a function of education; funneling people into a society’s various positions (348)
social promotion: promoting students to the next grade even though they have not mastered basic materials (352)
spirit of capitalism: Weber’s term for the desire to accumulate capital as a duty—not to spend it, but as an end in itself—and to constantly reinvest it (360)
tracking: sorting students into educational programs on the basis of real or perceived abilities (348)
born again: a term describing Christians who have undergone a life-transforming religious experience so radical that they feel they have become a “new person” (359)
charisma: an extraordinary gift from God; more commonly, an outstanding, “magnetic” personality (361)
charismatic leader: literally, someone to whom God has given an extraordinary gift; more commonly, someone who exerts extraordinary appeal to a group of followers (361)
church: to Durkheim, one of the three essential elements of religion—a moral community of believers; used by other sociologists to refer to a highly organized religious organization (355)
cosmology: teachings or ideas that provide a unified picture of the world (359)
credential society: a group that uses diplomas and degrees to determine who is eligible for jobs even though the diploma or degree may be irrelevant to the actual work (342)
cult: a new religion with few followers, whose teachings are practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion (361)
cultural transmission: in reference to education, the ways by which schools transmit culture, especially its core values (346)
ecclesia: a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off (362)
functional illiteracy: people having difficulty with basic reading and math even though they have graduated from high school (352)
gatekeeping: the process by which education opens and closes doors of opportunity; another term for the social placement function of education (348)
grade inflation: higher grades for the same work; a general rise in student grades without a corresponding increase in learning or test scores (352)
hidden curriculum: the unwritten goals of schools, such as teaching obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms (349)
latent functions: the positives consequences that people did not intend their actions to accomplish (346)
mainstreaming: helping people to become part of the mainstream of society (347–348)
manifest functions: the positive things that people intend their actions to accomplish (346)
profane: Durkheim’s term for common elements of everyday life (354)
Protestant ethic: Weber’s term to describe the ideal of a self-denying, moral life, accompanied by hard work and frugality (360)
religion: to Emile Durkheim, beliefs and practices that separate the profane from the sacred and unite its adherents into a moral community (355)
religious experience: awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God (359)
rituals: ceremonies or repetitive practices; in this context, religious observances or ties, often intended to evoke a sense of awe of the sacred (358)
sacred: Durkheim’s term for things that are set apart or forbidden, that inspire fear, awe, reverence, or deep respect (354)
sect: a group larger than a cult that whose members feel hostility from and toward society (362)
secularization of religion: the replacement of a religion’s “otherworldly” concerns with concerns about “this world” (367)
social placement: a function of education; funneling people into a society’s various positions (348)
social promotion: promoting students to the next grade even though they have not mastered basic materials (352)
spirit of capitalism: Weber’s term for the desire to accumulate capital as a duty—not to spend it, but as an end in itself—and to constantly reinvest it (360)
tracking: sorting students into educational programs on the basis of real or perceived abilities (348)
RELIGION: ESTABLISHING MEANING
VI. What Is Religion?
A. According to Durkheim, religion is the beliefs and practices separating the profane from the sacred, uniting adherents into a moral community.
1. Sacred refers to aspects of life having to do with the supernatural that inspire awe, reference, deep respect, or deep fear.
2. Profane refers to the ordinary aspects of everyday life.
B. Durkheim found religion to be defined by three elements: (1) beliefs that some things are sacred (forbidden, set off from the profane), (2) practices (rituals) concerning things that are considered sacred, and (3) a moral community (a church) resulting from a group’s beliefs and practices.
VII. The Functionalist Perspective
A. Religion performs functions such as (1) answering questions about ultimate meaning (the purpose of life, why people suffer); (2) uniting believers into a community that shares values and perspectives; (3) providing guidelines for life; (4) controlling behavior; (5) providing support for the government; and (6) spearheading social change (on occasion, as in the case of the civil right movement in the 1960s).
B. War and religious persecution are dysfunctions of religion.
VIII. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
A. Religions use symbols to provide identity and social solidarity for members. For members, these are not ordinary symbols, but sacred symbols evoking awe and reverence, which become a condensed way of communicating with others.
B. Rituals are ceremonies or repetitive practices that unite people into a moral community.
Some are designed to create a feeling of closeness with God and unity with one another.
1. Symbols, including rituals, develop from beliefs. A belief may be vague (“God is”) or specific (“God wants us to prostrate ourselves and face Mecca five times each day”).
2. Religious beliefs include values and a cosmology (unified picture of the world).
C. Religious experience is a sudden awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God. Some Protestants use the term born again to describe people who have undergone a religious experience.
IX. The Conflict Perspective
A. Conflict theorists are highly critical of religion. Karl Marx called religion the “opium of the people” because he believed that the workers escape into religion. He argued that religion diverts the energies of the oppressed from changing their circumstances because believers focus on the happiness they will have in the coming world rather than on their suffering in this world.
B. Religious teachings and practices reflect a society’s inequalities. Religion legitimates social inequality; it reflects the interests of those in power by teaching that the existing social arrangements of a society represent what God desires.
X. Religion and the Spirit of Capitalism
A. Observing that European countries industrializing under capitalism, Weber questioned why some societies embraced capitalism while others clung to traditional ways. He concluded that religion held the key to modernization (transformation of traditional societies into industrial societies).
B. Weber concluded that:
1. Religion (including a Calvinistic belief in predestination and the need for reassurance as to one’s fate) is the key to the development of capitalism in Europe.
2. A change in religion (from Catholicism to Protestantism) led to a change in thought and behavior. The result was the Protestant ethic, a commitment to live a moral life and to work and be frugal.
3. The spirit of capitalism (the desire to accumulate capital as a duty, as an end in itself), which resulted from this new ethic, was a radical departure from the past.
C. Today, the spirit of capitalism and the Protestant ethic are by no means limited to Protestants; they have become cultural traits that have spread throughout the world.
XI. Types of Religious Groups
A. A cult is a new religion with few followers, whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion.
1. All religions began as cults. Cults often emerge with the appearance of a charismatic leader (exerting extraordinary appeal to a group of followers).
2. Each cult meets with rejection from society. The cult’s message is seen as a threat to the dominant culture.
B. A sect is larger than a cult but still feels substantial hostility from and toward society. If a sect grows, its members tend to become respectable in society, and the sect is changed into a church.
C. A church is a large, highly organized religious group with formal, sedate services and less emphasis on personal conversion. The religious group is highly bureaucratized (including national and international offices that give directions to local congregations). Most new members come from within the church, from children born to existing members, rather than from outside recruitment.
D. An ecclesia is a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off. The government and religion work together to shape the society. There is no recruitment of members, for citizenship makes everyone a member. The majority of people in the society belong in name only.
E. Although religions began as cults, not all varieties of a religion have done so. A denomination—a “brand name” within a religion (e.g., Methodist)—begins as a splinter group. On occasion, a large group within a church may disagree on some of the church’s teachings (but not its major message) and break away to form its own organization.
XII. Religion in the United States
A. Characteristics of membership in U.S. churches:
1. Membership is highest in the South and Midwest and not much lower in the East.
2. Each religious group draws members from all social classes, although some are more likely to draw members from the top of the social class system and others from the bottom. The most top-heavy are Episcopalians and Jews; the most bottom-heavy are the Baptists and Evangelicals.
3. All major religious groups in the United States draw from various racial and ethnic groups; however, people of Hispanic or Irish descent are likely to be Roman Catholics and those of Greek origin to belong to the Greek Orthodox Church; African Americans are likely to be Protestants. Worship services tend to be highly segregated along racial lines.
4. Membership rate increases steadily with age.
B. Characteristics of religious groups
1. There is a diversity of religious groups; there is no state church and no ecclesia, and no single denomination dominates.
2. The many religions compete with one another for members.
3. Today, there is a fundamentalist revival because mainstream churches fail to meet the basic religious needs of large numbers of people.
4. The electronic church, in which televangelists reach millions of viewers and raise millions of dollars, has grown. Recently, the electronic church has moved to the Internet. Some feel that the Internet may fundamentally change our ideas about God.
C. The history of U.S. churches is marked by secularization and the splintering of religious groups.
1. Initially, the founders of religious sects felt alienated from the general cultures, their values and lower social class position setting them apart.
2. As time passes, the members of the group become successful, acquiring more education, becoming middle class, and growing more respectable. They no longer feel alienated from the dominant culture. There is an attempt to harmonize religious beliefs with the new cultural orientation.
3. This process is the secularization of religion, of shifting the focus from religious matters to affairs of this world.
4. Those who have not achieved worldly success feel betrayed and break away to form a new sect.
XIII. The Future of Religion
A. Science cannot answer questions about four concerns that many people have:
the existence of God, the purpose of life, morality, and the existence of an afterlife.
1. Neither science nor political systems can replace religion, and religion will last as long as humanity lasts.
A. According to Durkheim, religion is the beliefs and practices separating the profane from the sacred, uniting adherents into a moral community.
1. Sacred refers to aspects of life having to do with the supernatural that inspire awe, reference, deep respect, or deep fear.
2. Profane refers to the ordinary aspects of everyday life.
B. Durkheim found religion to be defined by three elements: (1) beliefs that some things are sacred (forbidden, set off from the profane), (2) practices (rituals) concerning things that are considered sacred, and (3) a moral community (a church) resulting from a group’s beliefs and practices.
VII. The Functionalist Perspective
A. Religion performs functions such as (1) answering questions about ultimate meaning (the purpose of life, why people suffer); (2) uniting believers into a community that shares values and perspectives; (3) providing guidelines for life; (4) controlling behavior; (5) providing support for the government; and (6) spearheading social change (on occasion, as in the case of the civil right movement in the 1960s).
B. War and religious persecution are dysfunctions of religion.
VIII. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
A. Religions use symbols to provide identity and social solidarity for members. For members, these are not ordinary symbols, but sacred symbols evoking awe and reverence, which become a condensed way of communicating with others.
B. Rituals are ceremonies or repetitive practices that unite people into a moral community.
Some are designed to create a feeling of closeness with God and unity with one another.
1. Symbols, including rituals, develop from beliefs. A belief may be vague (“God is”) or specific (“God wants us to prostrate ourselves and face Mecca five times each day”).
2. Religious beliefs include values and a cosmology (unified picture of the world).
C. Religious experience is a sudden awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God. Some Protestants use the term born again to describe people who have undergone a religious experience.
IX. The Conflict Perspective
A. Conflict theorists are highly critical of religion. Karl Marx called religion the “opium of the people” because he believed that the workers escape into religion. He argued that religion diverts the energies of the oppressed from changing their circumstances because believers focus on the happiness they will have in the coming world rather than on their suffering in this world.
B. Religious teachings and practices reflect a society’s inequalities. Religion legitimates social inequality; it reflects the interests of those in power by teaching that the existing social arrangements of a society represent what God desires.
X. Religion and the Spirit of Capitalism
A. Observing that European countries industrializing under capitalism, Weber questioned why some societies embraced capitalism while others clung to traditional ways. He concluded that religion held the key to modernization (transformation of traditional societies into industrial societies).
B. Weber concluded that:
1. Religion (including a Calvinistic belief in predestination and the need for reassurance as to one’s fate) is the key to the development of capitalism in Europe.
2. A change in religion (from Catholicism to Protestantism) led to a change in thought and behavior. The result was the Protestant ethic, a commitment to live a moral life and to work and be frugal.
3. The spirit of capitalism (the desire to accumulate capital as a duty, as an end in itself), which resulted from this new ethic, was a radical departure from the past.
C. Today, the spirit of capitalism and the Protestant ethic are by no means limited to Protestants; they have become cultural traits that have spread throughout the world.
XI. Types of Religious Groups
A. A cult is a new religion with few followers, whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion.
1. All religions began as cults. Cults often emerge with the appearance of a charismatic leader (exerting extraordinary appeal to a group of followers).
2. Each cult meets with rejection from society. The cult’s message is seen as a threat to the dominant culture.
B. A sect is larger than a cult but still feels substantial hostility from and toward society. If a sect grows, its members tend to become respectable in society, and the sect is changed into a church.
C. A church is a large, highly organized religious group with formal, sedate services and less emphasis on personal conversion. The religious group is highly bureaucratized (including national and international offices that give directions to local congregations). Most new members come from within the church, from children born to existing members, rather than from outside recruitment.
D. An ecclesia is a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off. The government and religion work together to shape the society. There is no recruitment of members, for citizenship makes everyone a member. The majority of people in the society belong in name only.
E. Although religions began as cults, not all varieties of a religion have done so. A denomination—a “brand name” within a religion (e.g., Methodist)—begins as a splinter group. On occasion, a large group within a church may disagree on some of the church’s teachings (but not its major message) and break away to form its own organization.
XII. Religion in the United States
A. Characteristics of membership in U.S. churches:
1. Membership is highest in the South and Midwest and not much lower in the East.
2. Each religious group draws members from all social classes, although some are more likely to draw members from the top of the social class system and others from the bottom. The most top-heavy are Episcopalians and Jews; the most bottom-heavy are the Baptists and Evangelicals.
3. All major religious groups in the United States draw from various racial and ethnic groups; however, people of Hispanic or Irish descent are likely to be Roman Catholics and those of Greek origin to belong to the Greek Orthodox Church; African Americans are likely to be Protestants. Worship services tend to be highly segregated along racial lines.
4. Membership rate increases steadily with age.
B. Characteristics of religious groups
1. There is a diversity of religious groups; there is no state church and no ecclesia, and no single denomination dominates.
2. The many religions compete with one another for members.
3. Today, there is a fundamentalist revival because mainstream churches fail to meet the basic religious needs of large numbers of people.
4. The electronic church, in which televangelists reach millions of viewers and raise millions of dollars, has grown. Recently, the electronic church has moved to the Internet. Some feel that the Internet may fundamentally change our ideas about God.
C. The history of U.S. churches is marked by secularization and the splintering of religious groups.
1. Initially, the founders of religious sects felt alienated from the general cultures, their values and lower social class position setting them apart.
2. As time passes, the members of the group become successful, acquiring more education, becoming middle class, and growing more respectable. They no longer feel alienated from the dominant culture. There is an attempt to harmonize religious beliefs with the new cultural orientation.
3. This process is the secularization of religion, of shifting the focus from religious matters to affairs of this world.
4. Those who have not achieved worldly success feel betrayed and break away to form a new sect.
XIII. The Future of Religion
A. Science cannot answer questions about four concerns that many people have:
the existence of God, the purpose of life, morality, and the existence of an afterlife.
1. Neither science nor political systems can replace religion, and religion will last as long as humanity lasts.
EDUCATION: TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
I. Education in Global Perspective
A. A credential society is one in which employers use diplomas and degrees to determine job eligibility.
1. The sheer size, urbanization, and consequent anonymity of U.S. society are major reasons for the requirement of credentials. Diplomas and degrees often serve as sorting devices for employers; because they don’t know the individual personally, employers depend on schools to weed out the capable from the incapable.
2. As technology and knowledge change, simple on-the-job training will not suffice; specific job skills must be mastered before an individual is able to do certain kinds of work.
B. Education in the Most Industrialized Nations: Japan
1. Japanese education reflects a group-centered ethic. Grade school children work as a group, mastering the same skills and materials; cooperation and respect for elders (and those in positions of authority) are stressed.
2. College admission procedures are based on test scores; only the top scorers are admitted, regardless of social class.
C. Education in the Industrializing Nations: Russia
1. After the Revolution of 1917, the government insisted that socialist values dominate education, seeing education as a means to undergird the new political system. Children were taught that capitalism was evil and communism was the salvation of the world.
2. Education at all levels was free. It was centralized, with all schools following the same curriculum.
3. Today, Russians are in the midst of “reinventing” education. Private, religious, and even foreign-run schools are operating, and students are encouraged to think for themselves.
4. The primary difficulty facing the post-Soviet educational system is the rapid changes in values and world views that are underway in Russia.
D. Education in the Least Industrialized Nations: Egypt
1. Several centuries before the birth of Christ, Egypt was a world-renowned center of learning. Primary areas of study were physics, astronomy, geometry, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine. After defeat in war, education declined, never to rise to its former prominence.
2. Today, education is free at all levels, including college; however, qualified teachers are few, classrooms are crowded, and education is highly limited. Children of the wealthy are still several times as likely to get a college education.
II. The Functionalist Perspective: Providing Social Benefits
A. A central position of functionalism is that when the parts of society are working properly, each contributes to the stability of society. For education, both manifest (intended) and latent (unintended but positive) functions can be identified.
B. The functions of education include (1) teaching knowledge and skills; (2) cultural transmission of values (individualism, competition, and patriotism); (3) social integration (molding students into a more or less cohesive unit); and (4) gatekeeping (determining who will enter what into occupations, through tracking and social placement).
C. Schools have assumed many functions that were previously fulfilled by the family (e.g., child care and sex education).
III. The Conflict Perspective: Perpetuating Social Inequality
A. The educational system is a tool used by those in the controlling sector of society to maintain their dominance. Education reproduces the social class structure, as well as society’s divisions of race-ethnicity.
1. Regardless of ability, children of the wealthy are usually placed in college-bound tracks, and children of the poor are usually placed in vocational tracks. Whites are more likely to complete high school, go to college, and get a degree than are African Americans and Latinos. This shows the funneling effect of education.
2. The education system helps to pass privilege (or lack thereof) across generations.
B. The hidden curriculum is the set of unwritten rules of behavior and attitude (e.g., obedience to authority, conformity to cultural norms) that are taught in school in addition to the formal curriculum
C. Conflict theorists criticize IQ (intelligence quotient) testing because these tests measure not only intelligence, but also culturally acquired knowledge. By focusing on these factors, IQ tests reflect a cultural bias that favors the middle class and discriminates against minority and lower-class students.
D. Because public schools are financed largely by local property taxes, there are rich and poor school districts. Unequal funding stacks the deck against minorities and the poor.
IV. The Symbolic Interaction Perspective: Fulfilling Teacher Expectations
A. Symbolic interactionists study face-to-face interaction inside the classroom. They have found that expectations of teachers are especially significant in determining what students learn.
B. The Rist research (participant observation in an African American grade school with an African American faculty) found that tracking begins with teachers’ perceptions.
1. After eight days—and without testing for ability—teachers divided the class into fast, average, and slow learners; social class was the basis for the assignments.
2. Students from whom more was expected did the best; students in the slow group were ridiculed and disengaged themselves from classroom activities.
3. The labels that were applied in kindergarten tended to follow the child through school.
C. George Farkas found students who score the same on course matter may receive different grades; female get higher grades, as do Asian Americans. Some students signal that they are interested in what the teacher is teaching; teachers pick up these signals.
V. Problems in U.S. Education—and Their Solutions
A. A variety of factors have been identified as the major problems facing the U.S. educational system today. These problems include the rising tide of mediocrity, grade inflation and how it relates to social promotion and functional illiteracy, and violence in schools.
B. A number of solutions have been offered to address these problems, including creating a secure learning environment and establishing higher academic standards and expectations.
A. A credential society is one in which employers use diplomas and degrees to determine job eligibility.
1. The sheer size, urbanization, and consequent anonymity of U.S. society are major reasons for the requirement of credentials. Diplomas and degrees often serve as sorting devices for employers; because they don’t know the individual personally, employers depend on schools to weed out the capable from the incapable.
2. As technology and knowledge change, simple on-the-job training will not suffice; specific job skills must be mastered before an individual is able to do certain kinds of work.
B. Education in the Most Industrialized Nations: Japan
1. Japanese education reflects a group-centered ethic. Grade school children work as a group, mastering the same skills and materials; cooperation and respect for elders (and those in positions of authority) are stressed.
2. College admission procedures are based on test scores; only the top scorers are admitted, regardless of social class.
C. Education in the Industrializing Nations: Russia
1. After the Revolution of 1917, the government insisted that socialist values dominate education, seeing education as a means to undergird the new political system. Children were taught that capitalism was evil and communism was the salvation of the world.
2. Education at all levels was free. It was centralized, with all schools following the same curriculum.
3. Today, Russians are in the midst of “reinventing” education. Private, religious, and even foreign-run schools are operating, and students are encouraged to think for themselves.
4. The primary difficulty facing the post-Soviet educational system is the rapid changes in values and world views that are underway in Russia.
D. Education in the Least Industrialized Nations: Egypt
1. Several centuries before the birth of Christ, Egypt was a world-renowned center of learning. Primary areas of study were physics, astronomy, geometry, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine. After defeat in war, education declined, never to rise to its former prominence.
2. Today, education is free at all levels, including college; however, qualified teachers are few, classrooms are crowded, and education is highly limited. Children of the wealthy are still several times as likely to get a college education.
II. The Functionalist Perspective: Providing Social Benefits
A. A central position of functionalism is that when the parts of society are working properly, each contributes to the stability of society. For education, both manifest (intended) and latent (unintended but positive) functions can be identified.
B. The functions of education include (1) teaching knowledge and skills; (2) cultural transmission of values (individualism, competition, and patriotism); (3) social integration (molding students into a more or less cohesive unit); and (4) gatekeeping (determining who will enter what into occupations, through tracking and social placement).
C. Schools have assumed many functions that were previously fulfilled by the family (e.g., child care and sex education).
III. The Conflict Perspective: Perpetuating Social Inequality
A. The educational system is a tool used by those in the controlling sector of society to maintain their dominance. Education reproduces the social class structure, as well as society’s divisions of race-ethnicity.
1. Regardless of ability, children of the wealthy are usually placed in college-bound tracks, and children of the poor are usually placed in vocational tracks. Whites are more likely to complete high school, go to college, and get a degree than are African Americans and Latinos. This shows the funneling effect of education.
2. The education system helps to pass privilege (or lack thereof) across generations.
B. The hidden curriculum is the set of unwritten rules of behavior and attitude (e.g., obedience to authority, conformity to cultural norms) that are taught in school in addition to the formal curriculum
C. Conflict theorists criticize IQ (intelligence quotient) testing because these tests measure not only intelligence, but also culturally acquired knowledge. By focusing on these factors, IQ tests reflect a cultural bias that favors the middle class and discriminates against minority and lower-class students.
D. Because public schools are financed largely by local property taxes, there are rich and poor school districts. Unequal funding stacks the deck against minorities and the poor.
IV. The Symbolic Interaction Perspective: Fulfilling Teacher Expectations
A. Symbolic interactionists study face-to-face interaction inside the classroom. They have found that expectations of teachers are especially significant in determining what students learn.
B. The Rist research (participant observation in an African American grade school with an African American faculty) found that tracking begins with teachers’ perceptions.
1. After eight days—and without testing for ability—teachers divided the class into fast, average, and slow learners; social class was the basis for the assignments.
2. Students from whom more was expected did the best; students in the slow group were ridiculed and disengaged themselves from classroom activities.
3. The labels that were applied in kindergarten tended to follow the child through school.
C. George Farkas found students who score the same on course matter may receive different grades; female get higher grades, as do Asian Americans. Some students signal that they are interested in what the teacher is teaching; teachers pick up these signals.
V. Problems in U.S. Education—and Their Solutions
A. A variety of factors have been identified as the major problems facing the U.S. educational system today. These problems include the rising tide of mediocrity, grade inflation and how it relates to social promotion and functional illiteracy, and violence in schools.
B. A number of solutions have been offered to address these problems, including creating a secure learning environment and establishing higher academic standards and expectations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
As you read Chapter 13, use these learning objectives to organize your notes. After completing your reading, you should be able to answer each of the objectives.
1. Summarize the development of modern education, and discuss the links between democracy, industrialization, and universal education. (342–343)
2. Compare the education systems of Japan, Russia, and Egypt, and talk about how they represent the differences in education between Most Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized Nations. (343–346)
3. From the functionalist perspective, identify and evaluate the manifest and latent functions of education. (346–348)
4. From the conflict perspective, explain and discuss the different ways in which the education system reinforces basic social inequalities. (348–350)
5. From the symbolic interactionist perspective, cite the research into the effects of teachers’ expectations on students’ performances, and discuss the implications. (350–351)
6. Identify the major problems that exist within the U.S. educational system, and evaluate some of the potential solutions. (351–354)
7. Define religion, and explain its essential elements. (354–355)
8. Describe the functions and dysfunctions of religion from the functionalist perspective. (355–356)
9. Apply the symbolic interactionist perspective to religious symbols, rituals, and beliefs, and discuss how each of these helps to establish and/or maintain communities of like-minded people. (356–359)
10. From the conflict perspective, discuss how religion supports the status quo, as well as reflecting, reinforcing, and legitimating social inequality. (359–360)
11. Summarize Max Weber’s analysis of religion and the spirit of capitalism, and explain its significance. (360–361)
12. Define cult, sect, church, and ecclesia, and describe the process by which some groups move from one category to another. (361–362)
13. Know how religious membership in the United States varies by region, social class, age, and race and ethnicity. (362–364)
14. Describe and discuss the major features of religious groups in the United States. (364–366)
15. Define secularization, and distinguish between the secularization of religion and the secularization of culture. (366–367)
16. Explain what accounts for the fundamental significance of religion in people’s lives and why, in all likelihood, religion will remain a permanent fixture in human society. (367)
1. Summarize the development of modern education, and discuss the links between democracy, industrialization, and universal education. (342–343)
2. Compare the education systems of Japan, Russia, and Egypt, and talk about how they represent the differences in education between Most Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized Nations. (343–346)
3. From the functionalist perspective, identify and evaluate the manifest and latent functions of education. (346–348)
4. From the conflict perspective, explain and discuss the different ways in which the education system reinforces basic social inequalities. (348–350)
5. From the symbolic interactionist perspective, cite the research into the effects of teachers’ expectations on students’ performances, and discuss the implications. (350–351)
6. Identify the major problems that exist within the U.S. educational system, and evaluate some of the potential solutions. (351–354)
7. Define religion, and explain its essential elements. (354–355)
8. Describe the functions and dysfunctions of religion from the functionalist perspective. (355–356)
9. Apply the symbolic interactionist perspective to religious symbols, rituals, and beliefs, and discuss how each of these helps to establish and/or maintain communities of like-minded people. (356–359)
10. From the conflict perspective, discuss how religion supports the status quo, as well as reflecting, reinforcing, and legitimating social inequality. (359–360)
11. Summarize Max Weber’s analysis of religion and the spirit of capitalism, and explain its significance. (360–361)
12. Define cult, sect, church, and ecclesia, and describe the process by which some groups move from one category to another. (361–362)
13. Know how religious membership in the United States varies by region, social class, age, and race and ethnicity. (362–364)
14. Describe and discuss the major features of religious groups in the United States. (364–366)
15. Define secularization, and distinguish between the secularization of religion and the secularization of culture. (366–367)
16. Explain what accounts for the fundamental significance of religion in people’s lives and why, in all likelihood, religion will remain a permanent fixture in human society. (367)
KEY PEOPLE
Review the major theoretical contributions or research findings of these theorists and thinkers.
Jane Addams: Addams was the founder of Hull House—a settlement house in the immigrant community of Chicago. She invited sociologists from nearby University of Chicago to visit. In 1931, she was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (7)
Mario Brajuha: During an investigation into a restaurant fire, officials subpoenaed notes taken by this sociologist in connection with his participant observation research on restaurant work. He was threatened with jail but would not turn over his notes. (26)
Auguste Comte: Comte is often credited with being the founder of sociology because he was the first to suggest that the scientific method be applied to the study of the social world. (3)
Lewis Coser: Coser pointed out that conflict is likely to develop among people in close relationships because they are connected by a network of responsibilities, power, and rewards. (15)
W. E. B. Du Bois: Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. For most of his career, he taught sociology at Atlanta University. He was concerned about social injustice, wrote about race relations, and was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (7–8, 9)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim was responsible for getting sociology recognized as a separate discipline. He was interested in studying how social forces shape individual behavior. (5)
Laud Humphreys: The sociologist carried out doctoral research on homosexual activity. To obtain information, he misrepresented himself to his research subjects. When his methods became widely known, a debate developed over his use of questionable ethics. (26–27)
Harriet Martineau: An Englishwoman who studied British and United States social life and published Society in America decades before either Durkheim or Weber was born. (6)
Karl Marx: Marx believed that social development grew out of conflict between social classes; under capitalism, this conflict was between the bourgeoisie—those who own the means to produce wealth—and the proletariat—the mass of workers. His work is associated with the conflict perspective. (4)
Robert Merton: Merton contributed the terms manifest and latent functions and latent dysfunctions to the functionalist perspective. (13)
C. Wright Mills: Mills suggested that external influences—or a person’s experiences—become part of his or her thinking and motivations and explain social behavior. In the 1950s, he urged U.S. sociologists to get back to social reform. He argued that research without theory is of little value, simply a collection of unrelated facts, and theory that is unconnected to research is abstract and empty, unlikely to represent the way life really is. (8)
Talcott Parsons: Parsons’ work dominated sociology in the 1940s and 1950s. He developed abstract models of how the parts of society harmoniously work together. (8)
Herbert Spencer: Another early social philosopher, Spencer believed that societies evolve from barbarian to civilized forms. He was the first to use the expression “the survival of the fittest” to reflect his belief that social evolution depended on the survival of the most capable and intelligent and the extinction of the less capable. His views became known as social Darwinism. (4)
Max Weber: Among Weber’s many contributions to sociology were his study of the relationship between the emergence of Protestant belief system and the rise of capitalism. He believed that sociologists should not allow their personal values to affect their social research and objectivity should become the hallmark of sociology. (5–6)
Jane Addams: Addams was the founder of Hull House—a settlement house in the immigrant community of Chicago. She invited sociologists from nearby University of Chicago to visit. In 1931, she was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (7)
Mario Brajuha: During an investigation into a restaurant fire, officials subpoenaed notes taken by this sociologist in connection with his participant observation research on restaurant work. He was threatened with jail but would not turn over his notes. (26)
Auguste Comte: Comte is often credited with being the founder of sociology because he was the first to suggest that the scientific method be applied to the study of the social world. (3)
Lewis Coser: Coser pointed out that conflict is likely to develop among people in close relationships because they are connected by a network of responsibilities, power, and rewards. (15)
W. E. B. Du Bois: Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. For most of his career, he taught sociology at Atlanta University. He was concerned about social injustice, wrote about race relations, and was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (7–8, 9)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim was responsible for getting sociology recognized as a separate discipline. He was interested in studying how social forces shape individual behavior. (5)
Laud Humphreys: The sociologist carried out doctoral research on homosexual activity. To obtain information, he misrepresented himself to his research subjects. When his methods became widely known, a debate developed over his use of questionable ethics. (26–27)
Harriet Martineau: An Englishwoman who studied British and United States social life and published Society in America decades before either Durkheim or Weber was born. (6)
Karl Marx: Marx believed that social development grew out of conflict between social classes; under capitalism, this conflict was between the bourgeoisie—those who own the means to produce wealth—and the proletariat—the mass of workers. His work is associated with the conflict perspective. (4)
Robert Merton: Merton contributed the terms manifest and latent functions and latent dysfunctions to the functionalist perspective. (13)
C. Wright Mills: Mills suggested that external influences—or a person’s experiences—become part of his or her thinking and motivations and explain social behavior. In the 1950s, he urged U.S. sociologists to get back to social reform. He argued that research without theory is of little value, simply a collection of unrelated facts, and theory that is unconnected to research is abstract and empty, unlikely to represent the way life really is. (8)
Talcott Parsons: Parsons’ work dominated sociology in the 1940s and 1950s. He developed abstract models of how the parts of society harmoniously work together. (8)
Herbert Spencer: Another early social philosopher, Spencer believed that societies evolve from barbarian to civilized forms. He was the first to use the expression “the survival of the fittest” to reflect his belief that social evolution depended on the survival of the most capable and intelligent and the extinction of the less capable. His views became known as social Darwinism. (4)
Max Weber: Among Weber’s many contributions to sociology were his study of the relationship between the emergence of Protestant belief system and the rise of capitalism. He believed that sociologists should not allow their personal values to affect their social research and objectivity should become the hallmark of sociology. (5–6)
KEY TERMS
After studying the chapter, review each of the following terms.
applied sociology: sociology that is used to solve social problems—from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of war and pollution (8)
basic (or pure) sociology: sociological research whose only purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups (27)
class conflict: Karl Marx’s term for the struggle between owners (the bourgeoisie) and workers (the proletariat) (4)
closed-ended questions: questions followed by a list of possible answers to be selected by the respondent (22)
conflict theory: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as being composed of groups competing for scarce resources (15)
control group: a group of subjects that are not exposed to the independent variable (25)
dependent variable: a factor that is changed by an independent variable (25)
documents: in its narrow sense, written sources that provide data; in its extended sense, archival material of any sort, including photographs, movies, and so on (24)
experiment: the use of control groups and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation (25)
experimental group: the group of subjects exposed to the independent variable (25)
functional analysis: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as a whole unit, composed of interrelated parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structural functionalism (13)
hypothesis: a statement of the expected relationship between variables according to predictions from a theory (18)
independent variable: a factor that causes a change in another variable, called the dependent variable (25)
macro-level analysis: an examination of large-scale patterns of society (15)
micro-level analysis: an examination of small-scale patterns of society (15)
nonverbal interaction: communication without words through gestures, silence, and use of space. (16)
open-ended questions: questions that respondents are able to answer in their own words (22)
operational definition: the way in which a variable in a hypothesis is measured (18)
participant observation (or fieldwork): research in which a researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting (24)
population: the target group to be studied (21)
positivism: the application of the scientific approach to the social world (3)
random sample: a sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study (22)
rapport: a feeling of trust between researchers and subjects (24)
reliability: the extent to which data produce consistent results (19)
replication: repeating a study to test its findings (27)
research method (or research design): one of six procedures sociologists use to collect data:
surveys, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents, unobtrusive measure, and experiments (18)
respondents: people who respond to a survey, either in interviews or by self-administered questionnaires (22)
sample: individuals from among a target population (21)
science: requires the development of theories that can be tested by systematic research (3)
secondary analysis: the analysis of data already collected by other researchers (24)
social integration: the degree to which people are tied to their social groups (5)
social interaction: what people do when they are in one another’s presence (15–16)
social location: the groups that people belong to because of their location in history and society (2)
society: a group of people who share a culture and a territory (2)
sociology: the scientific study of society and human behavior (3)
stratified random sample: a sample of specific subgroups of the target population in which everyone in the subgroups has an equal chance of being included in the study (22)
survey: collecting data by having people answer a series of questions (21)
symbolic interaction: a theoretical perspective that focuses on how people use symbols to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another (11)
theory: a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; and explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another (11)
unobtrusive measures: observing people in such a way that they do not know they are being studied (25)
validity: the extent to which an operational definition measures what was intended (18)
value free: the view that a sociologist’s personal values or biases should not influence social research (27)
values: ideas about what is good or worthwhile in life; attitudes about the way the world ought to be; the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly (27)
variable: a factor thought to be significant for human behavior, which varies from one case to another (18)
applied sociology: sociology that is used to solve social problems—from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of war and pollution (8)
basic (or pure) sociology: sociological research whose only purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups (27)
class conflict: Karl Marx’s term for the struggle between owners (the bourgeoisie) and workers (the proletariat) (4)
closed-ended questions: questions followed by a list of possible answers to be selected by the respondent (22)
conflict theory: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as being composed of groups competing for scarce resources (15)
control group: a group of subjects that are not exposed to the independent variable (25)
dependent variable: a factor that is changed by an independent variable (25)
documents: in its narrow sense, written sources that provide data; in its extended sense, archival material of any sort, including photographs, movies, and so on (24)
experiment: the use of control groups and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation (25)
experimental group: the group of subjects exposed to the independent variable (25)
functional analysis: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as a whole unit, composed of interrelated parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structural functionalism (13)
hypothesis: a statement of the expected relationship between variables according to predictions from a theory (18)
independent variable: a factor that causes a change in another variable, called the dependent variable (25)
macro-level analysis: an examination of large-scale patterns of society (15)
micro-level analysis: an examination of small-scale patterns of society (15)
nonverbal interaction: communication without words through gestures, silence, and use of space. (16)
open-ended questions: questions that respondents are able to answer in their own words (22)
operational definition: the way in which a variable in a hypothesis is measured (18)
participant observation (or fieldwork): research in which a researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting (24)
population: the target group to be studied (21)
positivism: the application of the scientific approach to the social world (3)
random sample: a sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study (22)
rapport: a feeling of trust between researchers and subjects (24)
reliability: the extent to which data produce consistent results (19)
replication: repeating a study to test its findings (27)
research method (or research design): one of six procedures sociologists use to collect data:
surveys, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents, unobtrusive measure, and experiments (18)
respondents: people who respond to a survey, either in interviews or by self-administered questionnaires (22)
sample: individuals from among a target population (21)
science: requires the development of theories that can be tested by systematic research (3)
secondary analysis: the analysis of data already collected by other researchers (24)
social integration: the degree to which people are tied to their social groups (5)
social interaction: what people do when they are in one another’s presence (15–16)
social location: the groups that people belong to because of their location in history and society (2)
society: a group of people who share a culture and a territory (2)
sociology: the scientific study of society and human behavior (3)
stratified random sample: a sample of specific subgroups of the target population in which everyone in the subgroups has an equal chance of being included in the study (22)
survey: collecting data by having people answer a series of questions (21)
symbolic interaction: a theoretical perspective that focuses on how people use symbols to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another (11)
theory: a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; and explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another (11)
unobtrusive measures: observing people in such a way that they do not know they are being studied (25)
validity: the extent to which an operational definition measures what was intended (18)
value free: the view that a sociologist’s personal values or biases should not influence social research (27)
values: ideas about what is good or worthwhile in life; attitudes about the way the world ought to be; the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly (27)
variable: a factor thought to be significant for human behavior, which varies from one case to another (18)
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. The Sociological Perspective
A. This perspective is important because it provides a different way of looking at life and it contributes to our understanding of why people are the way they are.
B. Sociology stresses the broader social context of behavior.
1. At the center is the question of how people are influenced by their society.
2. Sociologists look at the social location—culture, social class, gender, race, religion, age, and education—of people.
3. Sociologists consider external influences—people’s experiences—that are internalized and become part of a person’s thinking and motivations.
II Origins of Sociology
A. Sociology emerged as a result of changes in European societies that were taking place at that time:
(1) the Industrial Resolution, in which traditional society and culture were transformed;
(2) the American and French revolutions, out of which new ideas about the rights of individuals within society were accepted; and
(3) the application of scientific methods to find answers for questions about the natural order and our social world.
B. Auguste Comte coined the term sociology and suggested the use of positivism—applying the scientific approach to the social world—but he did not utilize this approach himself.
C. Herbert Spencer, another social philosopher, viewed societies as evolutionary, coined the term the survival of the fittest, and became known for social Darwinism.
D. Karl Marx, founder of the conflict perspective, believed that class conflict—the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie—was the key to human history.
E. Emile Durkheim studied the social factors that underline suicide and found that the level of social integration, the degree to which people are tied to their social group, was a key social factor in suicide. Central to his studies was the idea that human behavior cannot be understood simply in individual terms but must be understood within the larger social context in which it occurs.
F. Max Weber defined religion as a central force in social change; for example, Protestantism encourages greater economic development and was the central factor in the rise of capitalism in some countries.
III Sexism in Early Sociology
A. In the 1800s, women were assigned the roles of wife and mother. Few were able to acquire the education required to become sociologists, and those who did were ignored.
B. Harriet Martineau was exceptional. She studied social life in Great Britain and the United States and eventually published Society in America two to three decades before Max Weber or Emile Durkheim were even born.
IV. Sociology in North America
A. Sociology was transplanted to the United States in the late nineteenth century, first taking hold at the University of Chicago, the University of Kansas, and Atlanta University.
B. Jane Addams was active in promoting social reform. In 1889, she founded Hull House, a settlement house that served the needs of Chicago’s urban poor. Sociologists from the nearby University of Chicago were frequent visitors.
C. W. E. B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. He spent most of his career at Atlanta University, where he conducted extensive research on race relations in the United States. He was committed to social action, helping to found the NAACP.
D. During the 1940s, the focus shifted from reform to theory; Talcott Parsons developed abstract models of society to show how the parts of society harmoniously work together. In the 1950s, C. Wright Mills urged sociologists to get back to social reform. He saw imminent danger in the emergence of a power elite within the United States.
E. Recently, there have been attempts to blend sociological knowledge with practical results through the development of applied sociology.
1. Applied sociologists work in various social settings.
2. Applied sociology is not the same as social reform because the goal is not to rebuild society but to bring about change in a limited setting.
V. Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
A. Theory is defined as a “general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work.” There are three major theoretical perspectives in sociology.
B. Symbolic interactionism views society as being composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, define their relationship, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another. A symbolic interactionist studying divorce would focus on the changing meanings of marriage, divorce, and family to explain the increase.
C. Functional analysis sees society as being composed of various parts, each with a function, which contributes to society’s equilibrium. Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim all contributed to the development of functionalism.
1. Robert Merton used the term functions to refer to the beneficial consequences of people’s actions. There are both manifest functions—actions that are intended to help some part of the system—and latent functions—unintended consequences that help social systems adjust. There are also latent dysfunctions, unintended consequences that undermine a system’s equilibrium.
2. In trying to explain divorce, a functionalist would look at how industrialization and urbanization both contributed to the changing function of marriage and the family.
D. According to conflict theory, society is viewed as being composed of groups competing for scarce resources. Divorce is seen as the outcome of the shifting balance of power within the family. As women have gained power and tried to address inequalities in the relationship, men have resisted.
E. The perspectives differ in their level of analysis. Macro-level analysis—an examination of large-scale patterns of society is the focus for functional and conflict analysis. Micro-level analysis—an examination of social interaction is the focus for symbolic interactionism.
F. Each perspective provides a different and often sharply contrasting picture of the world. Sociologists use all three perspectives because no one theory or level of analysis encompasses all of reality.
G. Research without theory is of little value—a collection of meaningless facts. Theory that is unconnected to research is abstract and empty, unlikely to represent the way life really is. Theory and research have a reciprocal relationship: Theory is used to interpret research findings, and research in turn helps to generate theory.
VI. Doing Sociological Research
A. Common sense cannot be relied on as a source of knowledge because it is highly limited and its insights often are incorrect. To move beyond common sense and understand what is really going on and why, it is necessary to do sociological research.
B. Scientific research follows eight basic steps.
1. Selecting a topic depends on what the researcher wants to know more about and explain.
2. Defining the problem involves specifying exactly what the researcher wants to learn about the topic.
3. Reviewing the literature uncovers existing knowledge about the problem.
4. Formulating a hypothesis involves stating the expected relationship between variables, based on a theory. Hypotheses need operational definitions—precise ways to measure the variables.
5. Choosing a research method is influenced by the research topic.
6. Collecting the data involves concerns about validity—the extent to which operational definitions measure what was intended—and reliability—the extent to which data produce consistent results.
7. Analyzing the results involves the use of a range of techniques—from statistical tests to content analysis—to analyze data. Computers have become powerful tools in data analysis because they reduce large amounts of data to basic patterns in much less time than it used to take.
8. Sharing the results by writing a report and publishing the results makes the findings available for replication.
VII. Research Methods
A. Surveys involve collecting data by having people answer a series of questions.
1. The first step is to determine a population—the target group to be studied—and selecting a sample—individuals from among the target population who are intended to represent the population to be studied.
2. In a random sample, everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study. A stratified random sample is a sample of specific subgroups (e.g., freshmen, sophomores) of the target population (e.g., a university) in which everyone in the subgroup has an equal chance or being included in the study. Because a random sample represents the target population, you can generalize your findings.
3. The respondents (people who respond to a survey) must be allowed to express their own ideas so that the findings will not be biased.
4. Sociologists must decide between asking closed-ended questions, in which the respondent selects one from a list of possible answers, and open-ended questions, in which respondents answer the question in their own words.
5. It is important to establish rapport—a feeling of trust between researchers and subjects.
B. In participant observation, the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting.
C. Secondary analysis is the analysis of data already collected by other researchers.
D. Documents—written sources—may be obtained from many sources, including books, newspapers, police reports, and records kept by various organizations.
E. Experiments are especially useful in determining causal relationships
1. Experiments require an experimental group—the group of subjects exposed to the independent variable—and a control group—the group of subjects not exposed to the independent variable.
2. Experiments involve independent variables (factors that cause a change in something) and dependent variables (factors that are changed).
F. Unobtrusive measures involve observing social behavior of people who do not know they are being studied.
VIII. Ethics In Sociological Research
A. Ethics are of fundamental concern to sociologists when it comes to doing research.
B. Ethical considerations include being open, honest, and truthful; not falsifying results or stealing someone else’s work; not harming the subject in the course of conducting the research; protecting the anonymity of the research subjects; and not misrepresenting themselves to the research subjects.
C. Efforts by Mario Brajuha to honor his research ethics reflect the seriousness with which sociologists view ethical considerations. Research by Laud Humphreys raised questions about how researchers represent themselves to subjects.
D. Weber advocated that sociological research should be value free—personal values or biases should not influence social research—and objective—totally neutral.
1. Sociologists agree that objectivity is a proper goal but acknowledge that no one can escape values entirely.
2. Replication—repeating a study to see whether the same results are found—is one means to avoid the distortions that values can cause.
3. This debate illustrates the continuing tensions over what should be the goal of sociological research. Some sociologists lean toward basic sociological research that has no goal beyond understanding social life and testing social theory, others feel that the knowledge should be used to reform society.
A. This perspective is important because it provides a different way of looking at life and it contributes to our understanding of why people are the way they are.
B. Sociology stresses the broader social context of behavior.
1. At the center is the question of how people are influenced by their society.
2. Sociologists look at the social location—culture, social class, gender, race, religion, age, and education—of people.
3. Sociologists consider external influences—people’s experiences—that are internalized and become part of a person’s thinking and motivations.
II Origins of Sociology
A. Sociology emerged as a result of changes in European societies that were taking place at that time:
(1) the Industrial Resolution, in which traditional society and culture were transformed;
(2) the American and French revolutions, out of which new ideas about the rights of individuals within society were accepted; and
(3) the application of scientific methods to find answers for questions about the natural order and our social world.
B. Auguste Comte coined the term sociology and suggested the use of positivism—applying the scientific approach to the social world—but he did not utilize this approach himself.
C. Herbert Spencer, another social philosopher, viewed societies as evolutionary, coined the term the survival of the fittest, and became known for social Darwinism.
D. Karl Marx, founder of the conflict perspective, believed that class conflict—the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie—was the key to human history.
E. Emile Durkheim studied the social factors that underline suicide and found that the level of social integration, the degree to which people are tied to their social group, was a key social factor in suicide. Central to his studies was the idea that human behavior cannot be understood simply in individual terms but must be understood within the larger social context in which it occurs.
F. Max Weber defined religion as a central force in social change; for example, Protestantism encourages greater economic development and was the central factor in the rise of capitalism in some countries.
III Sexism in Early Sociology
A. In the 1800s, women were assigned the roles of wife and mother. Few were able to acquire the education required to become sociologists, and those who did were ignored.
B. Harriet Martineau was exceptional. She studied social life in Great Britain and the United States and eventually published Society in America two to three decades before Max Weber or Emile Durkheim were even born.
IV. Sociology in North America
A. Sociology was transplanted to the United States in the late nineteenth century, first taking hold at the University of Chicago, the University of Kansas, and Atlanta University.
B. Jane Addams was active in promoting social reform. In 1889, she founded Hull House, a settlement house that served the needs of Chicago’s urban poor. Sociologists from the nearby University of Chicago were frequent visitors.
C. W. E. B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. He spent most of his career at Atlanta University, where he conducted extensive research on race relations in the United States. He was committed to social action, helping to found the NAACP.
D. During the 1940s, the focus shifted from reform to theory; Talcott Parsons developed abstract models of society to show how the parts of society harmoniously work together. In the 1950s, C. Wright Mills urged sociologists to get back to social reform. He saw imminent danger in the emergence of a power elite within the United States.
E. Recently, there have been attempts to blend sociological knowledge with practical results through the development of applied sociology.
1. Applied sociologists work in various social settings.
2. Applied sociology is not the same as social reform because the goal is not to rebuild society but to bring about change in a limited setting.
V. Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
A. Theory is defined as a “general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work.” There are three major theoretical perspectives in sociology.
B. Symbolic interactionism views society as being composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, define their relationship, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another. A symbolic interactionist studying divorce would focus on the changing meanings of marriage, divorce, and family to explain the increase.
C. Functional analysis sees society as being composed of various parts, each with a function, which contributes to society’s equilibrium. Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim all contributed to the development of functionalism.
1. Robert Merton used the term functions to refer to the beneficial consequences of people’s actions. There are both manifest functions—actions that are intended to help some part of the system—and latent functions—unintended consequences that help social systems adjust. There are also latent dysfunctions, unintended consequences that undermine a system’s equilibrium.
2. In trying to explain divorce, a functionalist would look at how industrialization and urbanization both contributed to the changing function of marriage and the family.
D. According to conflict theory, society is viewed as being composed of groups competing for scarce resources. Divorce is seen as the outcome of the shifting balance of power within the family. As women have gained power and tried to address inequalities in the relationship, men have resisted.
E. The perspectives differ in their level of analysis. Macro-level analysis—an examination of large-scale patterns of society is the focus for functional and conflict analysis. Micro-level analysis—an examination of social interaction is the focus for symbolic interactionism.
F. Each perspective provides a different and often sharply contrasting picture of the world. Sociologists use all three perspectives because no one theory or level of analysis encompasses all of reality.
G. Research without theory is of little value—a collection of meaningless facts. Theory that is unconnected to research is abstract and empty, unlikely to represent the way life really is. Theory and research have a reciprocal relationship: Theory is used to interpret research findings, and research in turn helps to generate theory.
VI. Doing Sociological Research
A. Common sense cannot be relied on as a source of knowledge because it is highly limited and its insights often are incorrect. To move beyond common sense and understand what is really going on and why, it is necessary to do sociological research.
B. Scientific research follows eight basic steps.
1. Selecting a topic depends on what the researcher wants to know more about and explain.
2. Defining the problem involves specifying exactly what the researcher wants to learn about the topic.
3. Reviewing the literature uncovers existing knowledge about the problem.
4. Formulating a hypothesis involves stating the expected relationship between variables, based on a theory. Hypotheses need operational definitions—precise ways to measure the variables.
5. Choosing a research method is influenced by the research topic.
6. Collecting the data involves concerns about validity—the extent to which operational definitions measure what was intended—and reliability—the extent to which data produce consistent results.
7. Analyzing the results involves the use of a range of techniques—from statistical tests to content analysis—to analyze data. Computers have become powerful tools in data analysis because they reduce large amounts of data to basic patterns in much less time than it used to take.
8. Sharing the results by writing a report and publishing the results makes the findings available for replication.
VII. Research Methods
A. Surveys involve collecting data by having people answer a series of questions.
1. The first step is to determine a population—the target group to be studied—and selecting a sample—individuals from among the target population who are intended to represent the population to be studied.
2. In a random sample, everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study. A stratified random sample is a sample of specific subgroups (e.g., freshmen, sophomores) of the target population (e.g., a university) in which everyone in the subgroup has an equal chance or being included in the study. Because a random sample represents the target population, you can generalize your findings.
3. The respondents (people who respond to a survey) must be allowed to express their own ideas so that the findings will not be biased.
4. Sociologists must decide between asking closed-ended questions, in which the respondent selects one from a list of possible answers, and open-ended questions, in which respondents answer the question in their own words.
5. It is important to establish rapport—a feeling of trust between researchers and subjects.
B. In participant observation, the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting.
C. Secondary analysis is the analysis of data already collected by other researchers.
D. Documents—written sources—may be obtained from many sources, including books, newspapers, police reports, and records kept by various organizations.
E. Experiments are especially useful in determining causal relationships
1. Experiments require an experimental group—the group of subjects exposed to the independent variable—and a control group—the group of subjects not exposed to the independent variable.
2. Experiments involve independent variables (factors that cause a change in something) and dependent variables (factors that are changed).
F. Unobtrusive measures involve observing social behavior of people who do not know they are being studied.
VIII. Ethics In Sociological Research
A. Ethics are of fundamental concern to sociologists when it comes to doing research.
B. Ethical considerations include being open, honest, and truthful; not falsifying results or stealing someone else’s work; not harming the subject in the course of conducting the research; protecting the anonymity of the research subjects; and not misrepresenting themselves to the research subjects.
C. Efforts by Mario Brajuha to honor his research ethics reflect the seriousness with which sociologists view ethical considerations. Research by Laud Humphreys raised questions about how researchers represent themselves to subjects.
D. Weber advocated that sociological research should be value free—personal values or biases should not influence social research—and objective—totally neutral.
1. Sociologists agree that objectivity is a proper goal but acknowledge that no one can escape values entirely.
2. Replication—repeating a study to see whether the same results are found—is one means to avoid the distortions that values can cause.
3. This debate illustrates the continuing tensions over what should be the goal of sociological research. Some sociologists lean toward basic sociological research that has no goal beyond understanding social life and testing social theory, others feel that the knowledge should be used to reform society.
CHAPTER 1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
As you read Chapter 1, use these learning objectives to organize your notes. After completing your reading,you should be able to answer each of the objectives.
1. Understand what is meant by the broader social contexts that underlie human behavior and how and why sociologists study these broader social contexts. (2)
2. Know what is meant by social location and how it helps people to define themselves and others to define them. (2)
3. Explain the sociological perspective: what it is, what it offers, and why C.Wright Mills referred to it as “the intersection of biography (the individual) and history (the social factors that influence the individual).” (2)
4. Identify, understand, and make distinctions between tradition and science. (2–3)
5. Discuss the social changes—and the changing social conditions—that fostered the development of sociology as a distinct academic discipline in the middle of the nineteenth century. (3)
6. Identify and critique the sociological contributions of the following mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth century European sociologists: Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Harriet Martineau. (3–6)
7. Understand how and why levels of social integration may affect rates of suicide and how Emile Durkheim’s nineteenth-century study of suicide helped to demonstrate how social forces affect people’s behaviors. (5)
8. Discuss why there were so few women sociologists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and how the contributions of women sociologists during this period were received and evaluated by their male counterparts. (6–7)
9. Trace the history of sociology in North America from the late 1800s to the present time, identifying the specific sociological contributions of the following American sociologists: Jane Addams, W. E. B. Du Bois, Talcott Parsons, and C. Wright Mills. (7–8)
10. Understand the historical tensions and ongoing debates in North American sociology between social reform and social analysis and how the sociological contributions of Jane Addams, W. E. B. Du Bois, Talcott Parsons, and C. Wright Mills fit into the tensions and debates. (7–8)
11. Discuss the current state of American sociology as it relates to the debate between social reform and social analysis and what role applied sociology plays in this debate. (9–11)
12. Define what is meant by theory and explain why it is an important part of sociology. (11)
13. Identify the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology—symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory—and describe the particular level of analysis, characteristics, viewpoints, and concerns that are associated within each of these. (11–16)
14. Understand how to apply each level of analysis to various sociological topics, including divorce. (11–16)
15. Explain what areas of human behavior and aspects of social life are valid topics for sociological research. (17)
16. Explain why there is a need for sociological research. (17)
17. List and describe the eight basic steps for conducting scientific research. (17–21)
18. Define, describe, and discuss the significance of the following terms associated with the research process: hypothesis, variable, independent variable, dependent variable, operational definitions, validity, and reliability. (18–19)
19. Know and discuss the six research methods that sociologists use, the tools that they employ, and the strengths and limitations of each. (21–25)
20. Define, describe, and discuss the significance of the following terms associated with the six research methods: survey, population, sample, random sample, stratified random sample, closed-ended questions, open-ended questions, rapport, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents, experiment, experimental group, control group, independent variable, dependent variable, and unobtrusive measures. (21–25)
21. Know the ethical guidelines that sociologists are expected to follow and talk about the ethical issues raised in Mario Brajuha’s and Laud Humphrey’s research. (25–27)
22. Discuss Max Weber’s perspective on values in research. (27)
23. Discuss the tension that remains between “pure” sociology and social reform. (27)
1. Understand what is meant by the broader social contexts that underlie human behavior and how and why sociologists study these broader social contexts. (2)
2. Know what is meant by social location and how it helps people to define themselves and others to define them. (2)
3. Explain the sociological perspective: what it is, what it offers, and why C.Wright Mills referred to it as “the intersection of biography (the individual) and history (the social factors that influence the individual).” (2)
4. Identify, understand, and make distinctions between tradition and science. (2–3)
5. Discuss the social changes—and the changing social conditions—that fostered the development of sociology as a distinct academic discipline in the middle of the nineteenth century. (3)
6. Identify and critique the sociological contributions of the following mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth century European sociologists: Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Harriet Martineau. (3–6)
7. Understand how and why levels of social integration may affect rates of suicide and how Emile Durkheim’s nineteenth-century study of suicide helped to demonstrate how social forces affect people’s behaviors. (5)
8. Discuss why there were so few women sociologists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and how the contributions of women sociologists during this period were received and evaluated by their male counterparts. (6–7)
9. Trace the history of sociology in North America from the late 1800s to the present time, identifying the specific sociological contributions of the following American sociologists: Jane Addams, W. E. B. Du Bois, Talcott Parsons, and C. Wright Mills. (7–8)
10. Understand the historical tensions and ongoing debates in North American sociology between social reform and social analysis and how the sociological contributions of Jane Addams, W. E. B. Du Bois, Talcott Parsons, and C. Wright Mills fit into the tensions and debates. (7–8)
11. Discuss the current state of American sociology as it relates to the debate between social reform and social analysis and what role applied sociology plays in this debate. (9–11)
12. Define what is meant by theory and explain why it is an important part of sociology. (11)
13. Identify the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology—symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory—and describe the particular level of analysis, characteristics, viewpoints, and concerns that are associated within each of these. (11–16)
14. Understand how to apply each level of analysis to various sociological topics, including divorce. (11–16)
15. Explain what areas of human behavior and aspects of social life are valid topics for sociological research. (17)
16. Explain why there is a need for sociological research. (17)
17. List and describe the eight basic steps for conducting scientific research. (17–21)
18. Define, describe, and discuss the significance of the following terms associated with the research process: hypothesis, variable, independent variable, dependent variable, operational definitions, validity, and reliability. (18–19)
19. Know and discuss the six research methods that sociologists use, the tools that they employ, and the strengths and limitations of each. (21–25)
20. Define, describe, and discuss the significance of the following terms associated with the six research methods: survey, population, sample, random sample, stratified random sample, closed-ended questions, open-ended questions, rapport, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents, experiment, experimental group, control group, independent variable, dependent variable, and unobtrusive measures. (21–25)
21. Know the ethical guidelines that sociologists are expected to follow and talk about the ethical issues raised in Mario Brajuha’s and Laud Humphrey’s research. (25–27)
22. Discuss Max Weber’s perspective on values in research. (27)
23. Discuss the tension that remains between “pure” sociology and social reform. (27)
Introduction To Sociology ~ THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Sociology offers a perspective—a view of the world—that stresses the social experiences of people as the underlying cause of their behavior.
Sociology emerged in the mid-1800s in Western Europe, during the upheavals of the Industrial Revolution. Early sociologists who focused on the changes that were then occurring in Europe were Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. In the early years, few women received the advanced education required to become a sociologist, and women like Harriet Martineau who did become sociologists were largely ignored.
Sociology became established in North America by the end of the nineteenth century. Within U.S. sociology, there has always been a tension between basic sociology and attempts to reform society. Two early sociologists who combined sociology with social reform were Jane Addams and W. E. B. Du Bois.
A theory is a statement about how facts are related to one another. Because no one theory encompasses all of reality, sociologists use three primary theoretical frameworks:
(1) symbolic interactionism—which concentrates on the meanings that underlie people’s lives—usually focuses on the micro level;
(2) functional analysis—which stresses that society is made up of various parts that, when working properly, contribute to the stability of society—focuses on the macro level; and
(3) conflict theory—which stresses inequalities and sees the basis of social life as a competitive struggle to gain control over scarce resources—also focuses on the macro level.
Research and theory must work together because without theory, research is of little value, and if theory is unconnected to research, it is unlikely to represent the way life really is.
Sociological research is needed because common sense is highly limited and often incorrect. Eight basic steps are included in scientific research:
(1) selecting a topic, (2) defining the problem, (3) reviewing the literature, (4) formulating a hypothesis, (5) choosing a research method, (6) collecting the data, (7) analyzing the results, and (8) sharing the results.
Sociologists use six research methods (or research designs) for gathering data:
(1) surveys, (2) participant observations, (3) secondary analysis, (4) documents, (5) experiments, and (6) unobtrusive measures.
Ethics are of concern to sociologists, who are committed to openness, honesty, truth, and protecting subjects. Sociologists agree that social research should be value free but recognize that at any point in time, sociologists are members of a particular society and are infused with values of all sorts. One of the dilemmas for sociologists is deciding whether the goal of research should be only to advance understanding of human behavior or also to reform harmful social arrangements.
Sociology offers a perspective—a view of the world—that stresses the social experiences of people as the underlying cause of their behavior.
Sociology emerged in the mid-1800s in Western Europe, during the upheavals of the Industrial Revolution. Early sociologists who focused on the changes that were then occurring in Europe were Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. In the early years, few women received the advanced education required to become a sociologist, and women like Harriet Martineau who did become sociologists were largely ignored.
Sociology became established in North America by the end of the nineteenth century. Within U.S. sociology, there has always been a tension between basic sociology and attempts to reform society. Two early sociologists who combined sociology with social reform were Jane Addams and W. E. B. Du Bois.
A theory is a statement about how facts are related to one another. Because no one theory encompasses all of reality, sociologists use three primary theoretical frameworks:
(1) symbolic interactionism—which concentrates on the meanings that underlie people’s lives—usually focuses on the micro level;
(2) functional analysis—which stresses that society is made up of various parts that, when working properly, contribute to the stability of society—focuses on the macro level; and
(3) conflict theory—which stresses inequalities and sees the basis of social life as a competitive struggle to gain control over scarce resources—also focuses on the macro level.
Research and theory must work together because without theory, research is of little value, and if theory is unconnected to research, it is unlikely to represent the way life really is.
Sociological research is needed because common sense is highly limited and often incorrect. Eight basic steps are included in scientific research:
(1) selecting a topic, (2) defining the problem, (3) reviewing the literature, (4) formulating a hypothesis, (5) choosing a research method, (6) collecting the data, (7) analyzing the results, and (8) sharing the results.
Sociologists use six research methods (or research designs) for gathering data:
(1) surveys, (2) participant observations, (3) secondary analysis, (4) documents, (5) experiments, and (6) unobtrusive measures.
Ethics are of concern to sociologists, who are committed to openness, honesty, truth, and protecting subjects. Sociologists agree that social research should be value free but recognize that at any point in time, sociologists are members of a particular society and are infused with values of all sorts. One of the dilemmas for sociologists is deciding whether the goal of research should be only to advance understanding of human behavior or also to reform harmful social arrangements.
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