1. An Introduction to The Social Sciences

2. Academic Disciplines
Academic disciplines are specific branches of learning:
Social Science Disciplines:
Anthropology, psychology, sociology, economics, political science
Each discipline examines human behaviour from a particular point of view - Theoretical Perspective

3. Theory
A theory is a “framework” for organizing facts (observable evidence)
Theories explain how and why something happens, and predicts with great accuracy how things will happen in the future
Theories DO NOT determine what will happen, nor do they imply what should or should not be
Facts, lack meaning without some theory to explain them.
Example: Divorce rate is about 33.5%
This is a fact, but the fact does not explain why couples get divorced or how divorce affects society.

4. The Social Sciences Anthropology: Psychology
the science that studies the physical and cultural development (values, beliefs, mores, institutions etc…) of humanity.
“How and why did the family develop?”
Psychology
the science that studies the mental processes and the behaviour of persons.
It’s focus is on how people think and develop
“How did your childhood experiences affect your attitudes towards school / relationships?”

5. Introduction to Sociology
Define “society”
Briefly explain ‘how’ society works
Idenitify 3-5 ways in which your behaviour is affected by your society.

6. What is Sociology? Sociology
the study of the social world. It involves studying human beings and their patterns of behaviour.
Sociology focuses on the way people form relationships and how these relationships, considered in their totality are represented by the concept of a "society".

7. Focus of Sociology
The focus of the sociologist’s attention is group behaviour.
They study the effect that the groups people either create / join or are born into (family, work, education and peer groups) have upon people’s behaviour.

8. Micro & Macro Perspective of Sociology
Mirco level: Sociology is about explaining the different forces and influences that shape how someone grows up

9. Macro level: Sociology is about understanding why & how society functions, and why people accept society’s control (and why some do not).

10. What is Society?
Some people deny “society” exists at all → simply individual men and women acting as individuals
But → individuals DO appear to act in very ORGANIZED ways
The way society is organized affects the individual – individuals are socially constructed
Although we are Individuals, we are SOCIALLY MADE
The problem of Sociology → it threatens ordinary understanding of how things work – commonsense ideas that “everyone knows to be true”

11. Answer True of False to the following statements:
a. A woman walking alone at night is in greater danger of sexual assault or rape by a stranger than a woman in a familiar place with a man she knows.
b. Men are naturally more aggressive than women.
c. "Falling in love" is a natural human emotion. Therefore, romantic love has existed in all societies at all times.
d. By teaching children about sexual relationships, the education system encourages young people to experiment sexually, leading to an increase in teenage pregnancies.
e. Someone living in Toronto is more likely to be the victim of crime than any other city in Canada.
f. Crime rates are higher today than they were 30 years ago.
g. The high divorce rate in our society indicates that marriage as an institution is under threat in our society.
h.1/2 of all marriages in Canada will end in divorce
Sociology relies on evidence that can be tested and verified to develop explanations about human behaviour

12. The Origins of Sociology
John Locke ( )→ The mind at birth is a “tabula rasa” – a blank slate – our social environment, not our social class, determines who we will be

13. Auguste Compte ( ) → coined the term sociology – use social facts to show how social structures work
Positivism – authentic knowledge is only that which can be derived from scientific and mathematical data
Like the physcial world society operate according to measurable and verifiable laws – understand these laws and you can make a better society

14. Emile Durkheim
Society functions to protect the interests of its members
Functional differentiation – society divides itself into groups to cope with the complex tasks that allow it to function successfully.
Fascinated by suicide – why did it happen?
Discovered that Catholics committed suicide far less frequently than protestants – there must be social forces at work
Suicide → must look beyond individual act to see the moral pressures at work → see social patterns or forces - culture
Identified “social facts” – concepts and expectations that come from one’s social community and affect individual behaviour
Although we accept these ‘norms’ and ‘values’, we are constrained by them as well
Conclusion – society is a system of hidden forces (institutions, roles, norms and culture) that influence individual behaviour.

15. Talcott Parsons ( )
Developed one of the first theories to explain how and why society works.
All successful (functional) societies must solve 4 basic problems:
Economic
Political
Cultural
Family
Society invents social structures to solve each problem – structural functionalism

16. Economic
PROBLEM All successful societies must produce and distribute the things that are needed for human survival
SOLUTION
Society has to develop a division of labour – organizing people into work related roles
Economic organization affects social values
Industrial capitalism – individuals must be free to work – liberty, equality become social values

17. Political PROBLEM All successful societies are orderly and stable
SOLUTION
Society must develop ways of governing and controlling people's behaviour.
Our society - this is achieved by government (law-making), the police, the courts and so forth.

18. Cultural
PROBLEM
All successful societies must make people feel they have things in common with other people - to make people feel that they belong to a society and common culture.
SOLUTION
Social institutions and agents of socialization develop values and norms that people feel they have in common.
Cultural institutions that attempt to perform this function include education, the mass media, and religion

19. FAMILY PROBLEM SOLUTION
All successful societies must ensure that children are born (physical reproduction), nurtured and socialized in a way that allows them to grow into functioning adult members of society (social reproduction).
The FAMILY
Primary institution and agent of socialization – it prepares us for participation in all other social groups
It ensures that children learn language, and the cultural roles and expectations of their society.

20. Structural Functionalism
Society functions because it has structure:
Institutions: organizations that meet the needs of society
Roles: social-status positions that are important for society to be successful
Norms: accepted behaviours for a given role
All social structures (institutions & agents of socialization) have a purpose (function)  fulfill the needs of society
Each necessary social function is institutionalized  individuals are socialized to assume roles and act according to norms
Example: When I perform my duties as a husband, a wife, teacher, or a citizen, and carry out the commitments I have entered into, I fulfill obligations which are defined in law and custom and which are external to myself

21. Basic Assumptions of S-F
Macro View of Society  focus on how large-scale structures affect individual behaviour
Consensus: Stability and Order is achieved through shared norms and values social norms and values reflect the majority of society
Change is evolutionary  norms and values change slowly & in an orderly way
Equilibrium  The goal of all societies is to be stable (equilibrium)  if one part changes all other parts must adjust

22. Structural Functionalism
Explanation of family
Explanation of Individual
Family  primary institution
We learn the values and norms of our society – microcosm (mini version) of society
Family prepares us to function in all other institutions
We are socialized to accept roles and behave according to norms
We are socialized by social institutions (education & government) and agents of socialization (friends & media)

23. Conflict Theory
Karl Marx  power & wealth not equally distributed in society: some social groups dominate others
How does society function? Not through social consensus BUT social dominance & force!
Social order is maintained either by FORCE or SELF-OPPRESSION

24. Basic idea of Conflict Theory
Question: How do the few manage to get the many to do most of the work?
Answer: ideology (ideas and beliefs about how the world works)
The “commonsense” views of the world are shaped by the ideology (viewpoint) of the dominant groups
Others adopt this viewpoint, even when it is not in their interest to do so  false consciousness
False Consciousness – when we accept the values of the dominant class
How? Through media (owned by dominant class), and other social institutions (government, education, etc…)
Thus, social values are not the values of the many, but the values of the fortunate few

28. Conflict Theory Explanation Institutions
Religion – the “opiate” (drug) of the masses
Teaches the common person to be subserviant – reward is in heaven
Political ideology -
Family –
Family represents society’s class division
 men’s work is primarily outside the home and paid a wage. Women’s work is primarily within the home & not paid – therefore not valued
Men of all classes wield economic power within the household
Family  oppressive institution that serves the interest of men above women and children
Family teaches us to accept inequality

29. Conflict Theory Family Individual
Family represents society’s class division:  men’s work is primarily outside the home and paid a wage.
Women’s work is primarily within the home & not paid – therefore not valued
Men of all classes wield economic power within the household
Family  oppressive institution that serves the interest of men above women and children
Family teaches us to accept inequality
We are socialized to accept the values of the dominant class
Religion – the “opiate” (drug) of the masses
Teaches the common person to be subserviant – reward is in heaven
Political ideology
Free-market capitalism works for all equally

31. Symbolic Interactionism
“I am not who I think I am I am not who you think I am I am what I think you think I am” Who am I? What does this mean?

32. Symbolic Interactionism
A psychological theory
Explains how we derive meaning from our experiences
Action depends on meaning – we act based on the meaning we’ve given something
We give meaning to something based on our social interactions – different meanings for different people
Meanings can change over time
Micro Theory  people develop and define their individual & group identity through interactions with others- mutually working out what things mean
In a “macro” way it explains how we develop our culture – what it means to be Canadian, Jamaican, Chinese etc…

33. Three aspects of theory:
Symbols/ language tangible (real) representation of an idea – we share our meaning of things through symbols & language
Language is symbolic  the word ‘love’ is a sound symbol for the idea that we are emotionally attached to one another
Meaning – how we interpret the actions of others and thing
is your idea of love the same as mine? How can I know this?
Thought – how we interpret symbols – though internal dialogue with ourselves we “construct” meaning

34. We develop a sense of self through our interaction with others, both individually and in groups
Actions of others can be confusing  we cannot see the mental processes behind their actions - we are constantly interpreting what someone else “means” by what they say and do
We must take the perspective of the other in order to try to figure this out

35. Symbolic Interactionism
Family
Individual
Teaches us how to interpret the symbols of our society (language)
Begins the process of defining who we are as individuals
We learn about ourselves first through our interactions with our family
Family instills in us societal values
The development of the individual is a social process
As we develop we learn to use the symbols (language & visual icons) of our immediate group, give them the same meaning and share them with others
S. I. also explains how we acquire our identities – from others
“Me” – my objective qualities (tall, short, male, female, white, black, brown)
“I” – subjective qualities – our awareness of self & the meaning of the objective qualities
Society determines what it means to be a boy, girl, short or tall, white or black
We are what we think others think we are

37. Feminist Theory Examines the role sex and gender have on behaviour
Specifically takes the perspective of women (virtually all sociologists were male)
Reaction to gender bias in society
Androcentricity – the bias that assumes that male behaviour is human behaviour
Like conflict theory, Feminist theory sees inequalities in power as a result of social structures that have been constructed by men, and therefore benefit men
What social structures need to change to allow for women to more equally participate in society?

38. Systems Theory System – a series of inter-related parts
Change in one part = change in the entire system
Systems strive for balance / equalibrium
Feedback – the process of interacting so as to maintain the stability of the system
Society is a system of institutions – change in one (family) = change in other institutions (education, government etc…)
Family is a system of roles
The success of each role depends on the others in the system
Individual – must learn the patterns and strategies for interacting with others

39. Social Exchange Theory
Cost-benefit theory of human behaviour
We act to maximize our benefits and minimize our costs
Benefits = perceived rewards
Costs = the things we give up in order to secure a reward
Costs & Benefits are often matters of perception – very personal
Benefits can be social (status) as well as material ($$)
Costs are also matters of perception – not everyone will consider costs equally
Symbolic interactionism applies here to explain the meaning of “cost” and “benefit”
Benefits must be perceived to be equal to, or outweigh, the costs for relationships to be stable