Intro and Sociological Imagination
Social facts: Social norms, values, and structures go beyond individuals, shaping behavior
through external influence rather than personal choice, reflecting society's impact on
individuals.
Sociological Imagination: the ability to see the impact of social forces on individuals' public
and private lives.
The Self
Why Freud is of interest to sociology: Because Freud’s understanding of the emergence of the
self in utterly social
Main Argument of Cooley: He is one of the first to argue that “the mind is social”. Our sense of
self (self concept) emerges from the ability to assume the point of view of others and imagine
how others see us
Looking Glass Self: we form our self-concepts, based on our perception of how others see us,
we develop our reflected sense of self. This starts even before we are born.
Significance of a “Distorted” Glass: since the looking glass comes from our imagination, it can
be distorted. What we imagine other’s opinions/ reactions may not accurately reflect our opinion
of us.
How does Cooley see the self developing: Our personality seems stable because our life
circumstances are relatively stable. The self is further stabilized because we tend to seek out
others who reflect back at us who we think we are.
Main Argument of Mead: One of the first to argue that “the mind is social”. He argued that
when we think about an object is different from thinking about ourselves (as an object).
Example: We look around and see a bike, it is an object and we can also look around and see
ourselves as an object.
Stages of Development of Self:
The Preparatory Stage (birth-2 years approximately): Infants take the role of the other
through imitation without understanding intentions. At this stage, the child cannot put themselves
in the role of the other, but are learning meaning behind symbols, gestures and language.
The Play Stage (2-6 approximately): kids take the role of specific people who are important to
them and imagine things from that point of view.
The Game Stage (7 onward): children engage in more complex games involving many others at
once, and this requires more abstract thinking.
The Generalized Other Stage (12 years approximately): the final stage where children can
consider others' attitudes and perspectives within their social group, grasping broader cultural
norms and anticipating typical societal reactions.
Generalized Other: refers not to any specific individual, but to all members of a particular
social group and the behavioral expectations of that group.
Generalized Other and Morality: Making this abstraction allows a person to learn society's
basic norms, values, and symbols, becoming fully moral by doing what's right.
Main Point of Gilligan: she said Kohlberg’s theory was gender biased because he only studied
men, and the stages were male focused
-Her research found gender differences in moral perspectives: boys focus on justice while
girls emphasize care and reasons behind behavior, highlighting the social and gendered aspects
of morality.
Main perspective of sociology regarding the self: sociology primarily views the self as a
socially constructed phenomenon, shaped by interactions with others and social contexts.
Culture and Construction
Society: An organized collection of individuals and institutions in a common territory, subject to
the same political authority, and organized through a shared set of cultural expectations and
values
Two Parts of Society:
Culture: is the content of society. It is made up of all the products, material and non-material,
created and shared by a group of people over time.
Social Structure: is the framework of society. It is the social setting in which individuals
interact with one another to form relationships.
Significance of symbols: It shapes social understanding, communication, form relationships and
the construction of shared realities
Sanctions: reactions to behavior that can positive or negative, that influence whether an
individual conforms to social norms (expectations or control).
-Positive sanctions are rewards which can include praises, honors, medals, etc..
-Negative sanctions are penalties or punishment
Significance of rituals
-Rituals are routine behaviors engaged in by members of a culture.
-Rituals have two key purposes: expressing and reinforcing group values, beliefs, and cultural
norms across generations, and strengthening social bonds through shared experiences that
enhance group identity and values.
Example: wedding
Socialization: is where new members must learn how to fit in and function. It’s how we develop
our sense of self
Our Identities
Status: the specialized position a person occupies in a social structure and is characterized by
certain expectations, rights and duties.
Achieved status: acquired by the individual throughout the life course, such as occupation,
mother/father.
Ascribed status: given at birth, such as sex, race, ethnicity, daughter/son, etc.
According to the video, Origin of Race, why did we see the shift in the idea of race in the
17th and 18th centuries?
Because of the rise of capitalism and the Enlightenment. Slavery was needed to maximize
tobacco in farms
People in Interaction
Significance of status: we base our behavior on the statuses of others as well as on our own
statuses.
Status symbols: any thing that “signals” any kind of status. Usually, status symbols are used to
emphasize or indicate what we consider our major statuses.
Roles vs Status: role is the set of norms, behaviors and expectations attached to a status.
Whereas status is a social position
Your status is a student; your role is to learn.
My status is professor; my role is to teach.
Symbolic Interaction’s Understanding of the Self
Symbolic Interactionism: people make sense of their social worlds through communication
and social interaction - the exchange of meaning through symbols and language.
Main Point: symbolic interaction focuses on the individual, day-to-day interactions, and the
symbols and physical objects and how these are subject to change and people can have
different versions.
Three basic assumptions:
1. human actions depend on the meaning of an object,
2.we give meaning to things based on our social interactions and experiences, and
3.the meaning of symbols are not permanent
oDramaturgy: the idea that the human world is like a theatre, where people in everyday life
are actors that perform roles on stage.
Main Point: We are all actors and how we act depends on the audience. Presentation of self.
Deviance and Defiance
Deviance is the violation of informal social norms
Sociological perspective on deviance: no act is inherently deviant
Strain Theory (Robert Merton)
Main Argument: Society puts pressure on individuals to achieve certain socially accepted goals,
but some lack the means–opportunities are blocked. Individuals may commit crimes to achieve
socially desired goals due to strain caused by social structures.
Important Component: The poor face barriers but strive for economic success due to their
strong work ethic.
5 Responses to Strain:
Conformity: acceptance of the cultural goals and means of attaining those goals.
Innovation: acceptance of the goals of a culture but the rejection of the traditional and/or
legitimate means of attaining those goals.
Ritualism: rejection of cultural goals but the routinized acceptance of the means for achieving
the goals.
Retreatism: rejection of both the cultural goals and the traditional means of achieving those
goals.
Rebellion: rejection of both the cultural goals and traditional means of achieving them but
actively attempts to replace both elements of the society with different goals and means.
Labeling Theory
Main argument: Labeling theory has its roots in symbolic interactionism and argues behavior of
human beings is influenced significantly by the way other members in society label them.
Deviance argument: People become deviant when they are labeled as such by society.
Consequences of labeling: can potentially lead to criminal activity increased involvement with
deviant peer groups lead to a higher risk of future delinquency
Impact of felony disenfranchisement
Denying voting rights to felons limits democratic participation, especially for communities of
color, reinforcing systemic racism. Restoring these rights symbolizes reintegration, reduces
recidivism, and affects election outcomes and policy prioritization.
Organizations, Institutions and Structures
Examples of the emphasis on individualism in our society: insurance and individual
responsibility for wellness, the encouragement of unique self-expression, and the prioritization of
individual goals over group harmony.
What are institutions structuring? major activities of life such as family, the economy, religion
and authority.
3 key things that bring about this shift to modernity:
Scientific Revolution: From 1500s to 1600s, scientific revolution focused on empirical
evidence, skepticism, and reason, shifting authority from religion to science and paving the
way for the Age of Enlightenment.
Enlightenment (Reason and Individualism): The Enlightenment prioritized reason and
science over blind faith, emphasizing knowledge, freedom, individualism, and happiness.
Industrialization: Industrialization transformed work from local agriculture to distant factory
settings, prompting urbanization as people moved from rural to urban areas. A less discussed
aspect of modernity was the shift in mindset.
Key Features of Instrumental Rationality
Standard for Efficiency: it is necessary to have some kind of standard that allows us to
determine which means is more efficient than others.
Ideology: shared ideas or beliefs about the political, economic, social or cultural affairs which
serve to justify and support the interests of a particular group or organization
Examples of Ideologies:
Economic Ideologies
Capitalism as descriptive: In capitalism, production means are privately owned for profit, and
capital goods allocation is determined by financial markets.
Capitalism as Ideology: The belief that a privately owned economic system driven by profit
through capital and financial markets is ideal.
Political Ideologies
Democracy as descriptive: A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible
members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
Democracy as Ideology: The belief that a system of government by the whole population or all
the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives, is the best one.
Religious Ideologies
Religion as descriptive: the specific underlying sets of values, myths, ideas, attitudes, beliefs
and doctrine that shape the behavioral approach to political, economic, social, cultural and/or
ecological activities of an individual or group.
Religion as ideology: the belief that only one set of underlying values, myths, ideas, attitudes,
beliefs and doctrine is the correct one—and everyone else is wrong/ dammed /going to hell/an
infidel.
Race Ideologies
-Notion of race itself is an ideology. Scientifically, no such thing.
-Stereotypes are a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of
person or thing and are part of ideology.
Asians are better at….
Blacks are better at…
Whites are better at…
Gender and Sexuality Ideologies
Monogamy
True love
Heterosexuality
Stereotypes:
Men are better at…
Women are better at…
Women are more…
Men are more…
How is socialism used ideologically by capitalism?
Capitalism uses socialist ideas to justify itself, neutralizing radical critique. Socialism
is often portrayed as unrealistic, reinforcing capitalism as the dominant economic
model.
Economic Inequality
Open mobility: means people can move up or down in social class based on effort, skills, or
education.
Closed mobility: means social class is fixed, and movement is limited or not allowed, often
based on birth.
Significance: It shows how fair or equal a society is and helps understand social structure and
opportunity.
Base and Superstructure
Fundamental Assumption of Marx: the most basic task of any human society is providing food and
shelter.
Base: The Economy. Shapes everything else
Superstructure: Everything else (family, religion, law, culture, beliefs, values etc.).
-The superstructure, while shaped by the base, maintains and legitimates base.
Why was Max So Critical of Capitalism?
Karl Marx criticized capitalism for fostering inequality, exploitation, and alienation among the working
class due to the profit-driven nature of the system, predicting a revolution and the rise of socialism.
Surplus Value: the excess value created by workers' labor above what they are paid in wages.
Where does it come from?
It comes from the labor of the workers. Labor added value to the raw materals when the laborers used the
means of production to transform raw materials into a product to be sold on the market.
Why did he think that the workers should receive profit?
Marx claims that profit, or surplus value, comes from not playing labor its full value, but rather a wage.
The surplus value it created (as well as its “wage”). Wages are always less than the full, true value of
labor
Requirements for capitalism to work:
1.Someone with capital to invest
2. Someone with no capital to invest
Institutional Racism
Redlining: A practice of denying or limiting financial services to neighborhoods based on racial or ethnic
composition without regard to the residents’ qualifications or creditworthiness.
Imoortance of Redlining
Even though redlining is illegal, it still affects individuals and communities today mainly through
segregation and economic inequality, leading to disparities in housing, wealth, health, and education,
especially for minorities.
Video. PBS: The House we Live in.
Major points:
Government policies from the past that continue to work today that limit black access to
homeownership—the key source of wealth of most Americans.
Redlining and Housing Segregation: The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Home Owners'
Loan Corporation (HOLC) created maps that labeled predominantly Black neighborhoods as high-risk
("redlined"), leading to disinvestment and segregation.
Exclusion from New Deal Programs: Many New Deal initiatives, including Social Security and the GI
Bill, were implemented in ways that excluded or limited benefits for Black Americans, exacerbating
economic disparities.
Blockbusting: an attempt to stir up race-based panic and orchestrate the large-scale turnover of a
neighborhood's housing stock in order to profit from the turnover.
Social Security: when Social Security began in the 1930s, it left out Black agricultural and domestic
workers, depriving them of key benefits and limiting their wealth accumulation.
Current Consequences of Racial Segregation: The legacy of segregation has led to enduring disparities
in wealth, education, and health. Black families often reside in underfunded neighborhoods with limited
access to quality schools, healthcare, and employment opportunities. These systemic issues contribute to
the ongoing racial wealth gap.
Role of Home Ownership and Wealth Gap: Segregation's legacy creates enduring disparities in wealth,
education, and health, trapping black families in underfunded areas with limited opportunities, fueling the
racial wealth gap.
Key factor for higher infant and maternal mortality among blacks:
Systemic racism leads to poor infant mortality rates for babies of color, particularly Black and Indigenous
infants in the U.S., through disparities in healthcare, socioeconomic conditions, and environmental
injustices. Key factors include limited healthcare access, stress from racism, medical bias, poverty, and
education/resource gaps.
Sociological Research
Key problems with non-scientifically based sources of information.
It relies on opinions or unverified claims instead of proven evidence, which can lead to misinformation.
They may be biased, unchecked by experts, and use emotional language rather than facts to persuade
people.
What are the key methods involved in scientifically based knowledge
Scientifically based knowledge uses careful observation, experiments, and data to understand how things
work. It follows a step-by-step process called the scientific method, which includes asking questions,
testing ideas, and checking results.
Independent variable is the cause or factor that you control to see how it affects something else in an
experiment.
Dependent variable is what you measure or observe to see how it responds to the change.
Open-ended question: A question that allows for a detailed, longer answer (e.g., "What do you think
about school lunches?").
Closed-ended question: A question that can be answered with a short or fixed response, like "yes" or
"no" (e.g., "Do you like school lunches?").
Double-barreled question: A confusing question that asks two things at once, making it hard to answer
clearly (e.g., "Do you like school lunches and think they are healthy?").
Gendered Oppression
Main Point of the Video “Introduction to Feminist Theory
-Structural Functionalism: This perspective views gender roles as a means to organize society
efficiently. It suggests that traditional roles (e.g., men as providers, women as caregivers)
emerged to fulfill societal needs, promoting stability and functionality
-Symbolic Interactionism: From this viewpoint, gender is seen as a social construct that
individuals perform through daily interactions. Behaviors, appearances, and mannerisms are
ways people "do" gender, reinforcing societal norms and expectations.
-Social Conflict Theory: This theory posits that gender roles are a reflection of power
dynamics, where societal structures perpetuate inequalities between genders. It emphasizes how
traditional roles can reinforce dominance and limit opportunities for marginalized groups.
-Highlights that gender concepts vary across cultures, with some recognizing more than two
genders or viewing gender as a spectrum. It underscores the importance of understanding these
perspectives to grasp how gender influences individual experiences and societal structures.
Gender norms: societal expectations and rules regarding how men and women should behave,
express themselves and interact with others according to their gender.
-Example: Household chores are often gendered: women and girls responsible for cooking
and cleaning, men and boys yard work and repairs.
Household division of labor today among ages 18- to 34-year-old couples vs. older couples
It was found that opposite-sex couples, those ages 18 to 34 were no more likely than older
couples to divide most household chores equitably.
Time spent even when women are the sole breadwinner:
Even when the wife is the sole breadwinner, wives and husbands spend roughly the same amount
of time per week on household chores.
Reasons why the feminist movement in the 1970s came about
1- Physical, sexual and mental abuse of women by their husbands
2- Financial: Women were often at the financial mercy of their husbands, especially if she didn’t
work. They weren’t allowed to a get credit card under their own name
Gender ideology: the argument that there are “natural” differences between men and women
that make each more or less suitable for certain activities.
Second shift: a term coined in the 1980s to refer to the household and childcare duties that
follow the day's work for pay outside the home.
Third shift: emotional and relationship work.
Mental load: unseen but heavily felt labor involved in managing a household and family, which
typically falls on women's shoulders.
Implication of the SAVE Act for Women
-If a woman's voter registration name differs from the name on their birth certificate or passport,
they would need additional documentation which they would must be obtained in-person.
-For married women who has changed their last name, obtaining their marriage certificate is an
additional cost and burdens an extra penalty that other voters do not face.
Gramsci and Cultural Hegemony:
-Gramsci wanted to understand how the ruling class could maintain their dominance without the
use of force and he developed the idea of cultural hegemony.
-Cultural hegemony is domination or rule maintained through ideological and cultural means.
Hegemonic Masculinity: is a form of cultural hegemony and refers to the dominant, culturally
idealized form of masculinity within a society. It defines what a “real man” is.
Toxic Masculinity: negative aspects of exaggerated masculine traits that boys and men may feel
a pressure to conform to.
According to the video, Tough Guise
What is the “Guise” that Men and Boys Learn to Adopt
-Tough Guise: a mask that men and boys learn to wear, emphasizing toughness, emotional
suppression, dominance, and aggression.
-It is a defensive posture meant to conform to cultural standards of masculinity and avoid being
seen as weak or vulnerable.
What a Very Important Place Men and Boys Learn this “Guise.”
-A major source is the media, movies, TV, video games, and music often glorify violent and
emotionally detached male figures.
-Boys also learn it in peer groups, schools, families, and broader cultural environments that
reward aggression and discourage vulnerability.
How is Violence by Men Seen by Society, According to the Video.
Male violence is often normalized or excused as just “boys being boys” or a natural expression
of masculinity.
Society tends to focus on individual pathology (e.g., “he snapped”) rather than examining the
broader cultural and gender norms that promote violent behavior in men.
The gender of violent offenders is frequently ignored in public discourse, even though the vast
majority of violent acts are committed by males.
Impacts of Toxic Masculinity on Men;
-It is far reaching as it can lead to more violence against women, as men may feel entitled or
validated in their abusive behavior.
-More likely to experience isolation, poor health, and unhappiness.
