Download Areas of Sociology

Introduction to Sociology
Mr. Lauta
Shenandoah Valley
WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
• Sociology is the study of human
behavior and how humans interact in
groups
• How do people act in groups?
– Athletes: Male/Female? With teammates?
– Teachers: Younger/Older? With students?
– Rich/Poor?
– “Trouble-makers” in school?
Do people act differently in groups?
• Yes, in some cases they do!
• People’s behavior within a group
setting cannot be predicted from their
personal characteristics.
NORMS AND ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIORS
• Every society has expectations about how
its members should and should not behave.
• A norm is a guideline or an expectation for
behavior.
• Each society makes up its own rules for
behavior and decides when those rules
have been violated and what to do about it.
• Norms change constantly.
HOW NORMS DIFFER
• Norms differ widely among societies, and they
can even differ from group to group within the
same society.
HOW NORMS DIFFER
1) Different settings: Wherever
we go, expectations are placed
on our behavior. Even within the
same society, these norms
change from setting to setting.
• Example: The way we are
expected to behave in church
differs from the way we are
expected to behave at a party,
which also differs from the way
we should behave in a
classroom.
HOW NORMS DIFFER
• Different countries: Norms are place-specific,
and what is considered appropriate in one
country may be considered highly inappropriate
in another.
• Example: In some African countries, it’s
acceptable for people in movie theaters to yell
frequently and make loud comments about the
film. In the United States, people are expected to
sit quietly during a movie, and shouting would be
unacceptable. (Burping after a meal; clean plate
in China; clean plate in Japan)
HOW NORMS DIFFER
• Different time periods:
Appropriate and inappropriate
behavior often changes
dramatically from one
generation to the next. Norms
can and do shift over time.
• Example: In the United States
in the 1950s, a woman almost
never asked a man out on a
date, nor did she pay for the
date. While some traditional
norms for dating prevail, most
women today feel comfortable
asking men out on dates and
paying for some or even all of
the expenses.
NORM CATEGORIES
• 1) folkways
– a norm for everyday behavior that people
follow for the sake of convenience or tradition.
– People practice folkways simply because they
have done things that way for a long time.
– Violating a folkway does not usually have
serious consequences.
– Example: Holding the door open for a person
right behind you is a folkway.
NORM CATEGORIES
• 2) mores
– A more (pronounced MORE-ay) is a norm based on
morality, or definitions of right and wrong.
– Since mores have moral significance, people feel
strongly about them, and violating a more usually
results in disapproval.
– Example: Parents who believe in the more that only
married people should live together will disapprove of
their son living with his girlfriend. They may consider
their son’s action a violation of the moral guidelines
for behavior.
NORM CATEGORIES
• 3) laws
– A law is a norm that is written down and
enforced by an official agency.
– Violating a law results in a specific
punishment.
– Example: It is illegal in most countries to drive
a car while drunk, and a person violating this
law may get cited for driving under the
influence (DUI), which may bring a fine, loss
of driver’s license, or even jail time.
NORM CATEGORIES
• 4) taboos
– A taboo is a norm that society holds so
strongly that violating it results in extreme
disgust.
– The violator is often considered unfit to live in
that society.
– Example: In most countries, cannibalism and
incest are considered taboo. In some Muslim
cultures, eating pork is taboo because the pig
is considered unclean.
SOCIOLOGY
• Examines how humans interact with each other and
how human behavior is shaped by:
– 1) Social Structures
• Groups, communities, organizations
– 2) Social Categories
• Age, gender, class, race…
– 3) Social Institutions
• Politics, religion, education…
• A person’s attitudes, actions, and opportunities are
shaped by all these aspects of society
Sociological Perspective is Fourfold
• 1) Individuals belong to groups
• 2) Groups influence behavior
• 3) Groups take on characteristics that are
independent of their members
– The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• 4) Sociologists focus on behavior patterns
of groups
– Differences based on gender, race, age,
class, etc.
Areas of Sociology
• Small list follows:
– 1) Family
• Examines such things as marriage, divorce, child rearing,
and domestic abuse
• How these aspects are defined in different cultures and times
and how they affect individuals and institutions
Areas of Sociology
• Small list follows:
– 2) Deviance and Crime
• Also called criminology
• Examine cultural norms, how they change over time, how
they are enforced, and what happens to individuals and
societies when norms are broken
• Deviance and social norms vary among societies,
communities, and times
• Sociologists are interested in why these differences exist and
how these differences impact the individuals and groups in
those areas
Interesting Statistics…….
5% of our students take up 95%
of teachers’, assistantprincipals’, or disciplinarians’
time.
When compared to adult offenders,
the statistics are also significant…
73% of adults who serve time in
prison will get out, commit
another crime, and return to
prison.
Areas of Sociology
– 3) Demography
• Refers to a population’s composition
• Includes birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate,
and migration
• How and why these demographics vary between
societies, groups and communities
– 4) Social Inequality
• Examines the unequal distribution of power,
privilege, and prestige in society
• Differences and inequalities in social class, race,
and gender
Areas of Sociology
– 5) Health and Illness
• Focus on the social effects of, and societal
attitudes towards, illnesses, diseases, disabilities,
and the aging process
– 6) Work and Industry
• Concerns the implications of technological change,
globalization, labor markets, work organization,
managerial practices, and employment relations
• Interest in workforce trends and how they relate to
the changing patterns of inequality in modern
societies as well as how they affect the
experiences of individuals and families
Average
Salary
Average Per
Paycheck
$41,907
$1,746.12
$44,710
$1,862.91
$47,515
$1,979.79
$57,760
$2,406.66
$87,609
$3,650.37
$169,300
$7,054.16
$291,000
$12,125
Average
Salary
Average Per
Game
Highest
Paid
$770,00
$48,125
16 games
$14,150,00
@ $884,375 per game
$2,000,00
$24,390.24
82 games
$10,000,000
@121,951.21 per game
$3,240,00
$20,000
162 games
$28,000,000
@172,839.50 per game
$5,356,00
$65,317.70
$24,751,934
@$301,852.85 per game
Areas of Sociology
- 7) Race and Ethnicity
- Examines the social, political, and economic
relations between races and ethnicities at all levels
of society
- Common topics include: racism, residential
segregation, and differences in social processes
between racial and ethnic groups
Areas of Sociology
- 8) Military
- The military as a
social group rather
than an organization
- Examines issues
related to coerced
collective action,
survival in vocation
and combat, civilianmilitary relations,
and interactions
between groups or
government
agencies
Areas of Sociology
- 9) Religion
- Concerns the practice, history, development, and roles of
religion in society
- 10) Education
- How educational institutions determine social structures and
experiences
- How teacher attitudes, peer influence, school climate, school
resources, etc. affect learning
- 11) the Internet
- Analysis of online communities (newsgroups, social
networking sites, etc) and virtual worlds
- The social implications of the Internet and how virtual
communities and worlds are transforming real communities
and societies across the globe
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http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociology101/a/Introduction-To-Sociology.htm
An Invitation to Sociology, Part 1, Intro to Sociology and Who’s Who in Sociology,
Sociology Unit 1, Mrs. Furbush
http://potomaccolumnwriting.wordpress.com/tag/professional-athlete-salaries/