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Sociology
Notable Sociologists
 Auguste Comte
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He is seen as the father of Sociology
He coined the term Sociology in reference
to the new science of society
Terms
 Sociology
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Behavioral science that studies human society and
social behavior.
 Society
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Group of mutually interdependent people who have
organized in such a way as to share a common
culture and feeling of unity
 Social interaction
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How people relate to one another and influence
each other’s behavior
Terms
 Culture
 The beliefs, values, behavior, and material objects
that constitute a peoples' way of life
 Socialization
 Lifelong social experience by which individuals
develop their human potential and learn patterns of
their culture
 Personality
 A person’s fairly consistent patterns of thinking,
feeling, and behaving
 Socialization has a strong influence on one’s
personality
Five Components of Culture
1. Physical objects – Artifacts
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Material culture
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Automobiles, clothing, books, buildings,
cooking utensils and computers
Non-material culture
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Language, ideas, beliefs, rules, skills, family
patterns, work practices, and political and
economic systems
Five Components of Culture
2. Symbols
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Anything that stands for something else.
Five Components of Culture
3. Language
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The organization of written and spoken
symbols into a standardized system
The way a society expresses ideas and
communicate with each other
Includes non-verbal symbols
4. Values
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Shared beliefs about what is good or bad,
right or wrong, desirable or undesirable
Five Components of Culture
5. Norms
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Shared rules of conduct that tell people
how to act in specific situations
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Folkways – norms that do not have great
moral significance attached to them
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Informal ways of doing things
Folkways do not endanger the society
Mores – norms that have great moral
significance attached to them
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Violation of mores endangers the society
Laws – written rules of conduct
Factors that Affect Personality
 Is personality learned or are you born with it?
 There are three main factors that affect the
development of our personality
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Nature vs. Nurture
Birth order
Parental characteristics – education, religion,
economic status, cultural heritage occupation
The cultural environment – U.S. competitiveness,
assertive, individualism, male vs. female, etc.
Agents of Socialization
 Family
 Most important socializing agent, especially up to
age 5 or 6
 Family based socialization is not all intentional.
(environment is important)
 Research shows attention is very important
 Examples: physical contact, verbal, nonverbal
 School
 Major socializing agent for ages 6-13
 Hidden curriculum – activities that teach students
key cultural values
 Example: achievement, success, moral values
Agents of Socialization
 Peers
 Major socializing agent for ages 13-20
 This is a time of breaking away from direct adult
supervision.
 Peers develop social relationships on their own
 Develop a sense of identity apart from their
families
 During this time:
 Peers may guide short-term goals such as dress
and music
 Parents still maintain greater influence over longterm goals such as educational aspirations
Agents of Socialization
 Mass Media
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Impersonal communications directed at
large audiences.
 Examples:
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TV – average household has a television on
for 7 hours a day.
Music
Books – content analysis
Magazines
Radio – DJs, talk show hosts