SOCIOLOGY

Social strata are levels of social statuses. Members of a society who possess similar amount of wealth, power, and privileges occupy each social stratum. We can see layers of social statuses occupied by members of society. Organized systems of such strata are conceptualized as social stratification system. Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. Four basic principles of stratification: 1.  Social stratification is characteristic of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences. Children born into wealth families are more likely than born into poverty to enjoy good health, achieve academically, succeed in their life’s work, and live well into old age. Neither rich nor poor people are responsible for creating social stratification, yet this system shapes the lives of them all. 2.  Social stratification persists over generations. In all societies parents pass their social position along to their c...

Offenses committed by large corporations in society. Pollution, mislabeling, violations of health and safety regulations affect much larger number of people than petty criminality. The increasing power and influence of large corporations, and their rapidly growing global reach means that our lives are touched by them in many ways. Corporations are involved in producing cars that we drive and the food we eat. They also have an enormous effect on the natural environment and financial markets, aspects of life, which affect all of us.   Slapper and Tombs (1999) have listed six types of violations by corporations: •  Administrative(non-compliance of rules). •  Environmental (pollution, permits violations resulting in disasters. Victims). •   Financial (tax violations, permits violations). •  Labor(working conditions, hiring practices). •  Manufacturing (product safety, labeling). •  Unfair trading practices (anti-competition, false advertising) ...

Background There is a growing and widespread perception among the population that, over time, crime has grown more prevalent and serious. During the last half century it has been reported that people are now much more fearful of crime than in earlier times. They are experiencing heightened anxiety about going out after dark, about their homes being burgled, and about becoming the victims of violence. Statistics about crime and delinquency are probably the least reliable of all officially published figures on social issues. We cannot take official statistics at face value, but must pay attention to the way in which those statistics were generated.   The most basic limitation of official crime statistics isthat they only include crimes actually recorded by the police. There is a long chain of problematic decisions between possible crime and its registration by the police. The majority of crimes, especially petty thefts, are never reported to the police at all. Even in the case...

Sociological Explanations (continued) Control theory by W. Reckless Inside most of us, it seems, are strong desires to do a lot of things that would get us in trouble. Yet most of the time we don’t do these things. We mostly keep them to ourselves, and the temptation, urge, hostility, or desire to do something passes. To explain this restraint, Walter Reckless (1973) developed control theory.  According to this theory two systems work against our motivations to deviate. 1.  Inner control system: It includes our internalized morality --- call it conscience, ideas of right and wrong, reluctance to violate religious principles. It also includes fears of punishment, feelings of integrity, and the desire to be a ‘good’ person. 2.  Outer control system: It involves groups --- such as friends, family, sub-cultures, police that influence us not to deviate. How strong are the controls, inner as well as outer, determine deviancy of a person. Control theory by T. Hirschi Tr...

Since norms are essential for society, then why do people violate norms? Why people commit crime? There are biological, psychological, and sociological explanations for such behavior. Psychologists and socio-biologists explain deviance by looking for answers within individuals. They assume that something in the makeup of the people leads them to become deviant. They focus on genetic predisposition of individuals toward deviance and crime. In contrast, sociologists look for answers in factors outside the individual. They assume that something in the environment influences people to become deviant. Biological explanation Biological explanations focus on genetic predisposition toward deviance. Biological explanations include the following three theories:   1.  Body type: People with squarish, muscular bodies are more likely to commit street crime (mugging, rape, burglary). 2.  ‘XYY’ theory. Extra Y chromosome in males leads to crime. 3.  Intelligence: low intellige...

In the sociological perspective all behavior – deviance as well as conformity – is shaped by society. Therefore the society lays the foundation of deviance and that is how the title of this discussion. The social foundations of deviance may be looked at from three dimensions: 1.  Cultural relativity of deviance No thought or action is inherently deviant; it becomes deviant only in relation to particular norms. Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to a violation of norms of culture. One may look at three basic principles: (1) It is not the action itself, but the reactions to the act that makes something deviant.In other words people’s behavior must be viewed from the framework of the culture in which it takes place. (2) Different groups are likely to have different norms therefore what is deviant to some is not deviant to others.(3) This principle holds within a society as well as across cultures. Thus acts perfectly acceptable in one culture – or in one group within a soc...

Every group within society, and even human society itself, depends on norms for its existence. These very norms make social life possible by making behavior predictable. We can count on most people most of the time to meet the expectations of others. As a result there is some kind of social order in the society. Social order is a group’s usual and customary social arrangements, on which members depend and on which they base their lives. Without social order there is likely to be chaos. Social Control Every society or group develops its mechanism for making its members to obey the norms for the smooth functioning of its life. These are the attempts of society to regulate people’s thoughts and behavior. This process, may be formal or informal, is referred to as social control. Hence social control is a group’s formal and informal means of enforcing its norms. Deviance Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to the violation of norms.  Howa society defines deviance, whic...

Life course is a biological process. In this process there is a personal change from infancy through old age and death brought about as a result of the interaction between biographical events and social events. The series of major events, the stages of our lives from birth to death, may be called life course.Movement through life course is marked by a succession of stages by age.   Analysts have tried to depict the typical stages through which we pass, but they have not been able to agree on standard division of the life course. As such life course is biological process, which has been divided into four distinct stages: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.   Life course stages present characteristic problems and transitions that require learning new and unlearning familiar routines. Through the process of socialization society tries to prepare its members for taking up the roles and statuses associated with life course stages.   Each life course stage by...

Socialization agents are the sources from which we learn about society and ourselves. People and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior are called agents of socialization. They are our socializes. People who serve as socializing agents include family members, friends, neighbors, the police, the employers, teachers, political leaders, business leaders, religious leaders, sports stars, and entertainers. Socialization agents also can be fictional characters that we read about or see on television or in the movies. Every social experience we have affects us in at least a small way. However, several familiar settings have special importance in the socialization process. Some of the important agents of socialization are as below. The Family The family has the greatest impact on socialization. Infants are totally dependent on others, and the responsibility to look after the young ones typically falls on parents and other family members. It is a matter o...

Socialization is a complex, lifelong process. In this lecture we shall focus on the works of three pioneer researchers, namely Sigmund Freud (1856 -1939), George Herbert Mead (1863 -1931), and Charles Horton Cooley (1864 -1929). Freud’s Model of Personality Freud believed that biology plays a major part in human development, though not in terms of human instincts. He theorized that humans have two basic needs that are there at birth. First is the need for bonding, which Freud called the “life instinct”. Second, we have an aggressive drive he called the “deathinstinct”. These opposing forces operate at unconscious level and generate deep inner tension. Freud joined basic needs with the influence of society to form a model of personality with three parts: id, ego and superego.   The id(the Latin word for it) represents the human being’s basic drives,which are unconscious and demand immediate satisfaction. Rooted in biology id is present at birth, making a new born a bundle of ...

Human development is based on two assumptions: 1.  The newborn having the capacity to become a member of human society. The infant has the capacity to learn human social behavior. This capacity is provided by nature to every normal child. But 2.  The newborn child cannot become social being unless there is interaction with other human beings. Helpless at birth, the human infant depends on others to provide nourishment and care. Human infants are the most helpless of all; a human child cannot survive unaided for at least fouror five years of life. It is a matter of survival of human child; and then to transform the human child into a social being he needs interaction with other members of human society without which learning capacity is lost. This process of transformation is socialization.   Socialization is process whereby people learn through interaction with others that which they must know in order to survive and function within society. In this process, as def...

Three factors bring change in the culture of a society. These are: Inventions: The process of creating new cultural elements out of the existing elements. Since the modern man has a comparatively richer reservoir of cultural elements at his disposal, therefore he creates more inventions than the man in the olden times. The modern man does not have to reinvent the wheel; he has to use this wheel, improve uponit and bring something new. Discovery: It is the process of finding that already exists. Diffusion: It means the spread of cultural traits from one society to another. It is the borrowing of culture by one group from another. For purposes of diffusion contact between the two groups or societies is necessary. In the olden times, due to the lack development of means of transportation and communication, contact between different societies was limited. Therefore the diffusion was also limited. Whatever the diffusion took place it was more a result of physical contact. But...

Values: Culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness, and beauty that serve as broad guidelines for social living. What ought to be. Examples of values: Equal opportunity, Achievement or success, Material comfort, Activity and work. Science, Freedom, Physical fitness, Health, Punctuality. Wealth, Education, Competition and Merit. Honesty, Dignity of labor, Patriotism. Justice and Democracy. Environmental protection, Charity and Development. Sometimes there could be inconsistency in the values which can lead to conflict. Beliefs: Specific statements that people hold to be true. Values are broad principles that underlie beliefs. Values are abstract standard of goodness, while beliefs are particular matters that individuals consider to be true or false. Norms: Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members. These are the shared expectations of the people that govern their behavior. Proscriptive norms: Mandating what we should not do. Fo...