The Role of Human Behavior and Culture in Sociology - Prof. James Hunter, Study notes of Introduction to Sociology

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2 facts:  human beings are social beings  human behavior follows a frequent pattern  these 2 facts cannot be divided/separated
stereotypes  are examples of extreme patterns
sociology examines human tribes
“that complex hole, which includes knowledge, belief, customs"
culture = totality of human symbolic value  invisible  all aspects are learned or shared
humans  adaptable  highly unstable  don’t have instincts  world makers  create stability
institutions  normative patterns of human: o thinking o behavior o relating  replace instincts
Background  Taken for granted
Foreground  Human thinking/individualism
Arts + sciences discipline  Interpretive discipline  Gives a “fit for freedom” formation
Freedom  Realities with little control  Says no to society  Act contrary
Philosophy of liberal arts
2 knowledges  denigrated o poetic o substantive o engement  celebrated  Malleable  Changeable o Invariable
Invariable
Moral nature  Normative patterns = institutions
Culture surrounds us
Biological necessities trapped by culture  What is becomes what should be  The descriptive becomes the ethical
Patterns of behavior become:  Rules  Expectations  Norms = normal o culture 2% below 98% there is a relationship between:  folkways: not strict  mores: explicit moral sanction  customs: sanctioned by tradition  laws: enacted by those with political power
power of culture  Emile Durkheim o Social facts = patterns  External  Coersive  All social groups have social control, which is: o self-imposed (internal) o external:  violence  inefficient  economic pressure  strikes  walkouts  bankruptcy  informal  ridicule  gossip  excluding o Garfunkel’s experiment Inverse relationship  Deliberate violation of a norm  Brings into relief all the unspoken norms Maintains moral order Life in culture:  Boundaries o Walls within  Everyone has to interact amongst each other  Humans lack instincts  Humans manipulate biology  We have reflexes not instincts  We learn norms o Socialization  Process of social interaction  Acquire personality  Way of life  The world belongs to humans  Bio-drives o Society controls  Freud  Skinner  We are bounded o Everything we do is bound by nature of this process social factors over which we have no choice  Culture: o Trialectic:   identities cannot exist without ideas and institutions  Ervinh Goffman – 1959 o The presentation of self in everyday life  Analogical thinking o Social interaction is a theatrical performance o Plays off Mead  Extends to furthest degree o Front stage vs. back stage o Adornment  For others not self  Status difference, tribal affiliation, sexual information, personality  If you play a role you must wear a costume  Natural to us but not really natural  Nonconformists are conforming to a role o Helps us see that our taken for granted social world is full of rules (hidden + powerful) o Foreground of choice of roles with predetermined rules o We are just actors  People with masks  Social interaction is a competition for attention o Infant need for attention is similar to need for food  Distribution of attention (scarce) follows distribution of wealth + privilege = power  Derber + Goffman both looking for hidden social rules both talking about power of culture on identities.
Boundaries  Norms  Internally  “I” is in the micro level and the “Me” in the macro level  Externally  Boundaries are set to “Fit in”  Socialization o Humans don’t have instincts just reflxes o There are external forces that look over everyone in the world  3 sociologists o Derber  People are constantly looking for attention  Attention = Power o William James  We have multiple selves  We act according to our reputation  The way people see us o George H. Mead  “I”  “real me”  “Me”  “social me”  Interaction  Identification  “Acknowledge existence”  we take the attitude of the other  “significant other”
Deviance 12/08/2010
Earliest theories: biological – deviants are born not made  Power of publically recognized label  Insider/outsider – language o Each social realm has its own language of inclusion/exclusion o Creates norms + deviance  Deviance is relative to: o Social context o Historical period o Cui bono? – says who?  What group?  What interests?  Deviance is a matter of social definition still powerful  W.I. Thomas “a situation is not so much real in itself, but is real in its consequences”
In every culture there are deviances, which:  Give labels  Create grief  Interferes with society  Is it destructive?
There are punishments to deviants  These are rituals that help fix and unify society
Deviants:  Are out of order Punish  Help strengthen and unify society o Creates solidarity amongst the group  Dominant groups in society unify and oppose deviants o This creates:  solidarity + identity  brings moral authority  are independent of will  have power  against conspiracy  not passive  occur in all social orders  Dysfunctional? o No o Depends on the group they affect
Emile Durkheim:  Founder of functionalism  Talked about social facts, which are: o External o Coercive  Power over individuals  (institutions)  social control: o external o gives power  defines deviances  internal  functions of deviance: o Identity o Solidarity o Moral defense  “society needs deviants”
Rassaham  Labels = power o Ruin life  Deviance o Primary  Do NOT embrace label o Secondary  Embrace label  In order to destroy deviance a ritual has to occur which unites society against the deviant  Identification o Cultural Pluralism + Structural Pluralism
All aspects of culture change:  Rationality o Increase in rational control o Increase in individuality/independent thinking o Runs Institutions o Humans act a certain way  Cultural pluralism o Multiplicity of cultures o Multi-culture = different thinking o Increase in religious diversity o Humans have different identities  Structural pluralism o Private and public spheres are divided  Structural pluralism + cultural pluralism + rationality = more understanding of culture Deinstitutionalization 12/08/2010
Language  Humans are language animals  Everything depends on language  Trust ≠ reality, but humans trust language  If we don’t trust language we have nothing left to believe
Humans have no instincts
Institutions  Follow a coherent pattern  Part of the background  The foreground is increasing o Humans are becoming more individualistic o The power of institutions is declining
Balance of societies  Societies with very little foreground and a lot of background are totalitarian  Extreme modern societies tend to have very little background and a lot of foreground  Traditional societies are closer to totalitarian societies  Background is what we take for granted, while the foreground is what we deliberately do  Current modern societies are closer to the extreme modern societies than totalitarian societies
Modern societies negate trust, they have developed more skepticism
The main purpose of the crusades was to find certainty, but instead they found skepticism
Nitchev  1st skeptic  neonism = nothingness
Trialectic
Pluralism  Juxtaposes cultures o Different ways in which we see words  Undermines trust o Authority + confidence = words
Media  Affect human consciousness deeply o Molds the world and space  Almost disappear o Compartmentalize  world’s reality  Blends together  Significant + insignificant o Allusion of intimacy o Attention getting
Words ≠ meaning  There’s no source of authority
Law and culture are inversely related  Increase in laws = decrease in culture o Modern societies  Decrease in laws = increase in culture our background influences’ defines who we are root = stable roots = unstable public sphere is constantly changing which affects the private sphere, which is in charge of integrating the roots coherently identity has been deinstitutionalized  human thought is ascribed  sexual identity o is being questioned  foreground increasing
Subjectivization  shift inward  permanent reflectiveness o human crisis  increase in multiple thoughts  “realization”
identity is malleable
solution?  life plans  if one wants liberation o it’s a double sided knife Marriage 12/08/2010
does true love exist?  There are conditions
Humans are free agents  Intimate  We have a fluid atmosphere
Costs and benefits  Babies
Marriage is a pattern  life’s course o 1st marriedchildpre-schoolteenlaunchingmiddle ageold age 0 2 4 6 8 10 Marriage Life Duration H ap in es s  women that work outside of the house have a higher happiness level o husbands have a lower happiness level  cohabitation o 2 people living together o doesn’t last long o either they marry or they breakup
divorce?  rare in the 1950’s o divorce rate has been increasing since then  divorce rate is 45% now  younger couples have higher divorce rates  wealthy people have lower divorce rates  usually having a child before marriage increases the changes of getting a divorce  social class is a factor  parents o children from divorced parents to have a 90% higher chance of getting a divorce than those whose parents stayed together  consequences: o women tend to loose  lower social mobility o kids from divorced parents have a higher % chance of dropping out of school and/or going to prison  increase in foreground
unstable institution  decreased in power  higher burden has been placed on it o economical expectations have been added to the equation  the institutions that used to support marriage have decline in power o the church
uses of marriage:  friendship ≠ marriage  survival = social + economic  sexual outlet  best friend + romance
Furthest hand
Locate human phenomenon Sacred canopy
 Life
Brings  structure into our married life  protection
repairs any deviant
secularization = decrease in religion  privatized o public = wars o domesticated  pluratization o no monopoly on meaning o needs marketing o plausibility divided by structure  doubt grows o preference  deinstitutionalized o decrease in background = increase in foreground o heresy = to choose o crisis of credibility (C.C.)  weakening
humans experience marginality  raises doubt in modernity o increase in C.C.
Lipman  Assets of modernity eroded capacity to believe but not to need
Durkheim  4 elementary forms o clan o totem o sacredness o legends  God = Symbol
Secularism
functionalism: until sacred value is imposed on the totem
“sacred canopy”  shelters/protects us
USA is individualistic
Religion is needed but it is absent Social Stratification 12/08/2010
Gender
Ethnicity + Race
Nationality
Social differentiation
Ranking of social positions
Classifying human beings  Location in hierarchy  Ranking of: o life chances o gender o race +ethnicity o age
Social inequality leads to conflict which leads to change
Marx  Key element was social class o Relationship of humans to the means of production  Prolatarian o High class has control and ownership  Economic power  Gives access to resources  The higher you are in the social stratification the more opportunities and resources are available to you o status = exclusivity o has the power of legitimate naming
help us see other parts of the world
money and job position defines our social ranking  prediction
high class  strong sense of control  defer gratification for greater reward  more ambiguous  see life grey instead of black and white  higher political influence  tend to be o Episcopalian o Congressionalist o Presbyterian o Lutheran o Methodist o Pentecostal o Fundamentalism
Upper middle class:  Secular Jews o Reform  Conservative  Orthodox o Modern o Old order  Higher IQ’s  Higher Education  More job opportunities after universities  Better health
low class  fatalism belief  take immediate gratification  lower health
Romance  Love stays within social order  Marriage stability o Those that marry young tend to be in the lower parts of the social stratification  Tend to follow traditional male/female roles o Those that marry later tend to be part of the high class
Children  The lower class tends to have more children o They teach their children to follow rules  The upper class tends to have fewer children o They teach their children to follow principles (rearing)
Men tend to die before women
Changing in social stratification follows with all the characteristics of every class
Classes are divided pluralistically amongst several groups:  Each one of these groups has a specific division within o Economics o Race o Gender o Education o Sports
Has 3 purposes  Conflict o Durkheim o Derber o Marx  Functionalism o Marx o Weber  Symbolic interaction o Goffman o Derber o Mead
Davis + Moore  Uneven distribution Idea becomes theory Behavior  Formal institutions  Voting pattern
Culture  Implicit within system
Nonpolitical foundations
Cluster of ideas (implicit)
Healthy democracy = healthy culture
Ideas are stable
“E Pluribus Unum”  from many one  pluribus = many = differences  it’s a puzzle  constantly being changed  “UNUM” o thin consensus  ideal  common belief  substance  winning over rightness
pluralism  differences in religion, economic positions, ethnicity, etc.
politicized  Shared agreements ≠ deinstitutionalization
Debates are based in deeply rooted problems  Policy o Ex. Abortion  Meaning:  Motherhood  Freedom  Real meaning + purpose in America o Epistemic roots  Persuasion/coercion
Michel Foucault  Good society
Politics of language  Deinstitutionalized  Humans think functionally  Symbolic frame  Political
Pluralism evolved  Words contested o Reflects + shapes reality
Not a political structure
Presupposes culture
Change in immigration laws  Increase in diversity
Transcend differences
Culture = deinstitutionalized  Plurality + fragmentation
Mcintire  Not logical but Agreement  Rival premises o Come from illogical roots  No universal common good
Durkheim  Laws = pressure  Society = unity? o Solidarity  Mechanical  Traditional  Solidarity of belief  Organic  Modern  Interdependence  Both of these 2 types of societies are have characteristics of each other
Legitimization crisis  It’s about the “unum”  Built over time  Government depends on agreement before it can rule
Laws are inversely related to culture o State ≠ democracy  Stable  Has unstable cultural roots