Essentials of Sociology - TEST BANK 360testbank360.eu/...manual-essentials-of-sociology... · Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective 1 Chapter 2: Culture 21 Chapter 3: Socialization

Instructor’s Manual

for

Henslin

Essentials of Sociology A Down-to-Earth Approach

Eighth Edition

prepared by

Jessica Herrmeyer Hawkeye Community College

Allyn & Bacon

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Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Allyn & Bacon, 75 Arlington Street, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02116. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced with Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, Eighth Edition, by James M. Henslin, provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in any form for any other purpose without written permission from the copyright owner. To obtain permission(s) to use the material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Higher Education, Rights and Contracts Department, 501 Boylston Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02116 or fax your request to 617-671-3447. Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 11 10 09 08 ISBN-10: 0-205-57895-0 www.pearsonhighered.com ISBN-13: 978-0-205-57895-5


INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL CONTENTS

Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective 1 Chapter 2: Culture 21 Chapter 3: Socialization 35 Chapter 4: Social Structure and Social Interaction 53 Chapter 5: Social Groups and Formal Organizations 71 Chapter 6: Deviance and Social Control 87 Chapter 7: Global Stratification 103 Chapter 8: Social Class in the United States 121 Chapter 9: Race and Ethnicity 139 Chapter 10: Gender and Age 157 Chapter 11: Politics and the Economy 175 Chapter 12: Marriage and Family 195 Chapter 13: Education and Religion 213 Chapter 14: Population and Urbanization 231 Chapter 15: Social Change and the Environment 251



Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective: At-a-Glance Detailed Outline

Key Terms and Theorists

Media and Print Supplements

The Origins of Sociology • Tradition

Versus Science

• Auguste Comte and Positivism

• Herbert Spencer and Social Darwinism

• Emile Durkheim and Social Integration

• Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic

• The Sociological Perspective: stresses the social

contexts in which people live. • Positivism: applying the scientific method to the

social world. • Auguste Comte: the first social scientists to

apply the scientific method to the social world. • Herbert Spencer: believed societies evolved

from the lower to higher forms. Coined the term Social Darwinism.

• Karl Marx: Believed the engine of human history is class conflict. The controlling class of capitalists (bourgeoisie) is locked in conflict with the exploited class (proletariat).

• Emile Durkheim: showed how social forces affect people’s behavior. Identified social integration, the degree to which people are tied to their social group.

• Max Weber: German sociologist who believed religion was the central force of social change. Also addressed the Protestant ethic.

Instructor Resource CD-ROM

Study Guide Plus: Ch.1 Spanish Study Guide (found on Companion Website)

Test Bank: Ch.1 Computerized Test Bank Instructor’s Manual: Ch 1 Study Guide with PowerPoint Lecture Outlines: Ch.1

Sociology Transparencies Companion Website: www.ablongman.com/henslin

Digital Media Archive The Video Professor The

Sociological Perspective The Video Professor The

Sociological Perspective Figure 1.1 How Americans Commit Suicide p. 8

Sexism in Early Sociology • Attitudes of

the Time • Harriet

Martineau and Early Social Research

• Harriet Martineau: Studies social life in Great

Britain and the United States. • She published Society in America, in which she

reported on this new nation’s customs.

Sociology in North America • Early History • Jane Addams

and Social Reform

• W.E.B. Du Bois and Race Relations

• Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills

• The Continued Tension and the Rise of Applied Sociology

• Early sociology programs appeared at the

University of Kansas in 1890, University of Chicago in 1892, and Atlanta University in 1897.

• Jane Addams: Social reformer, co-founder of Hull House and Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

• W.E.B. Du Bois: Combined sociology and social reform. First African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard.

• Talcott Parsons: Developed abstract models of society.

• C. Wright Mills: coined the term power elite to describe top leaders in business, politics, and the military.

Down-to-Earth Sociology Early Sociology in North America: Du Bois and Race Relations p. 11

Figure 1.2 Comparing Basic and Applied Sociology p. 12

Down-to-Earth Sociology Careers in Sociology p. 13

Cultural Diversity in the U.S. Studying Job Discrimination: A Surprising Example of Applied Sociology p. 14

Figure 1.3 Call-Back Rates by Race-Ethnicity and Criminal Records Down-to-Earth Sociology p. 14

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon. 1

Instructor's Manual for Henslin / Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 8e


Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology • Symbolic

Interactionism • Functional

Analysis • Conflict

Theory • Macro and

Micro Levels of Analysis

• How Theory and Research Work Together

Symbolic Interactionism • People evaluate their own conduct by comparing

themselves with others. • Key theorists include Charles Horton Cooley,

George Herbert Mead, and William I. Thomas. Functional Analysis • Society is a whole unit made up of interrelated

parts that work together. Also known as functionalism and structural functionalism.

• Theorists include Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and Robert Merton.

Conflict Theory • Society is composed of groups that engage in

fierce competition for scarce resources. • The founder of conflict theory was Karl Marx.

Contemporary conflict theorists include Lewis Coser.

Figure 1.4 US Marriage, US

Divorce p16 ABC Video Racial Profiling of

Young Blacks and Arabs ABC Video Blinded by Hate

Table 1.1 Major Theoretical Perspectives p19

The Video Professor: Research Methods

Doing Sociological Research • A Research

Model • Research

Methods • Research

Methods • Ethics in

Sociological Research

• Values in Sociological Research

The Research Model • An eight step process. Research Methods • Includes surveys, participant observation,

experiments, and unobtrusive measures. Ethics in Sociological Research • Protecting Subjects: The Brajuha Research • Misleading Subjects: The Humphreys Research Values • Max Weber said that sociology should be value

free.

Figure 1.5 The Research Model

p. 20 Down-to-Earth Sociology

Enjoying a Sociology Quiz p. 21

Down-to-Earth Sociology Sociological Findings p. 22

Table 1.2 How to Read a Table p. 23

Table 1.3 Three Ways to Measure Average p. 24

Down-to-Earth Sociology Loading the Dice: How Not To Do Research p. 26

Table 1.4 Closed-and-Open Ended Questions p. 27

Figure 1.6 The Experiment p. 28

Figure 1.7 The Debate Over Values in Sociological Research p. 31

ABC Video Psychology and the Digital Divide

PROFESSOR’S NOTES


Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective: At-A-Glance


Chapter Summary: The Sociological Perspective The origin of sociology is officially credited to Auguste Comte. In the early 19th century, Comte applied the scientific method to the social world, calling this process positivism. Comte was not the first person who made an effort to understand social life and patterns of social behavior. Even ancient people tried to figure out social life, asking questions and questioning found answers. The difference between Comte and those in the ancient world was the application of the scientific method. Comte’s predecessors often based their answers on superstition, myth, or the position of the stars. Sociology emerged as a separate discipline in the mid-1800s in Western Europe, during the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Industrialization affected all aspects of human existence, where people lived, the nature of their work, how they viewed life, and interpersonal relationships. Early sociologists who focused on these social changes include Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. Sociology appeared during a historical period of widespread sexism. Consequently, few women received the advanced education required to become sociologists, and those who did, such as Harriet Martineau, were often ignored. Martineau, however, made several significant contributions to the discipline. These included the translation of Comte’s original works from French into English. Another special contribution she made to the discipline was her study of social life in Great Britain and the United States. The results of her research were published in the book Society in America. Following the birth of sociology in Europe, the discipline was adopted in America. The earliest departments of sociology were established in the late 1800s at the University of Kansas, Atlanta University (an all black school at that time), and the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago has been credited with being the most influential of the early schools. Founded in 1892, its faculty included Robert Park, Ernest Burgess, and George Herbert Mead. The emphasis on applied sociology was a significant part of many sociological programs in America. Among the applied sociologists of the early period were Jane Addams who founded Hull House, a community shelter for immigrants, the sick, and the poor. Jane later received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor. W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard, spent his lifetime researching the relationships between whites and African Americans. As many American sociologists became more involved with social reform, two distinctive interests developed in the discipline. One emphasized pure or basic sociology, in which the aim is to analyze society. The other, referred to as applied sociology, attempts to use sociology to reform society. Today, these contrasting orientations exist dynamically side by side. For sociologists to do their work, they must rely heavily on theory. A theory is a statement about how facts are related to one another. A theory provides a conceptual framework for interpreting




facts. Sociologists rely on three primary theoretical frameworks: (1) symbolic interactionism, which focuses on the impact of language and human relationships in small group settings (micro analysis); (2) functional analysis, which stresses that society is made up of various parts which, when working properly, contribute to the overall stability of society (macro analysis); and (3) conflict theory, which stresses social inequalities and understands the basis of social life as a constant struggle to gain control over scarce resources (macro analysis). Because no single theory encompasses all of reality, at different times sociologists may use any or all of the three theoretical lenses. With each perspective focusing on certain features of social life, and each providing its own interpretation, their combined insights yield a more comprehensive picture of social life. Theory and research depend on one another. Sociologists use theory to interpret the data they gather. Theory also generates questions that need to be answered by research, while research in turn, helps to generate theory. Theory without research is not likely to represent real life, while research without theory is merely a collection of empty facts. Research is essential to the sociological enterprise primarily because common sense is considered highly problematic, limited in scope, and often incorrect. There are eight basic steps in sociological research: (1) selecting a topic, (2) defining the problem, (3) reviewing the literature, (4) formulating a hypothesis, (5) choosing a research method, (6) collecting the data, (7) analyzing the results, and (8) sharing the results. To gather data, sociologists use a number of different methods, or research designs. These include surveys, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents, unobtrusive measures, and experiments. Ethics are of fundamental concern to sociologists, who are committed to openness, honesty, truth, and protecting their subjects from harm. The Brajuha research on restaurants and the Humphreys research on “tearooms” illustrate ethical issues of concern to sociologists. Max Weber stressed that social research should be value free. Like everyone else, however, sociologists are members of a particular society at a given point in history and are therefore infused with values of all sorts. To overcome the distortions that values can cause, sociologists stress replication, the repetition of a study by other researchers in order to compare results. Values present a second dilemma for researchers, to conduct research solely to analyze basic sociology or to reform harmful social arrangements. Key Changes to the Eighth Edition Comparison between basic and applied sociology in example of job discrimination study p. 14




Visual model of the experiment p. 28 Visual model of the debate over values in sociological research p. 31

Learning Objectives After reading Chapter 1, the student should be able to:

1.1 Explain the sociological perspective, discussing how ideas like social location, the connection between biography and history, and increased globalization contribute to our understanding of human behavior.

1.2 Discuss how and why sociology emerged as a science in the middle of the Nineteenth

century in Europe, explaining each of the following sociologists’ contributions to the development of sociology: Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber.

1.3 Trace the development of sociology in the United States from its origins in the late

19th century to its present-day perspectives, identifying the contributions that each of the following made to the development of sociology in North America: Albion Small, Jane Addams, W.E.B. Du Bois, Talcott Parsons, C. Wright Mills.

1.4 Explain the chief differences in three major theoretical perspectives: symbolic

interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory. 1.5 Compare micro-level and macro-level analysis and state which level of analysis is

utilized by each of the major theoretical perspectives. 1.6 Identify the eight steps in a research model and construct a research project based on

this model. 1.7 Define the following terms: hypothesis, variables, operational definition, research

methods, validity, reliability, and replication. Explain the role each plays in the research process.

1.8 List and describe the six research methods identified in the textbook, noting the major

advantages and disadvantages of each. 1.9 Describe the major ethical issues involved in sociological research; demonstrate these

issues by using the Brajuha and Humphreys research studies as examples. 1.10 Discuss how research and theory work together. Note reasons why most research

must be conducted under less than ideal circumstances.




Chapter Outline I. The Sociological Perspective

A. This perspective is important because it provides a different way of looking at familiar worlds.

1. It allows us to gain a new vision of social life. 2. This perspective stresses the broader social context of behavior by

looking at individuals’ social location. 3. We are able to see the links between what people do and the social

settings that shape their behavior.

B. This perspective enables us to analyze and understand both the forces that contribute to the emergence and growth of the global village and our unique experiences in our own smaller corners of this village.

II. Origins of Sociology

A. Sociology developed in the middle of the 19th century when European social observers began to use scientific methods to test their ideas.

1. Sociology emerged out of social upheaval. 2. The success of the revolutions in America and France encouraged

people to rethink their ideas about social life.

B. Auguste Comte coined the term “sociology.” 1. Comte suggested the use of positivism, applying the scientific approach

to the social world, but he did not utilize this approach himself. 2. Comte did believe that this new science should not only discover

sociological principles, but should then apply those principles to social reform.

C. Herbert Spencer viewed societies as evolutionary.

1. Spencer coined the term “the survival of the fittest,” and became known for Social Darwinism.

2. Spencer was convinced that no one should intervene in the evolution of society and that attempts at social reform were wrong.

D. Karl Marx, whose ideas about social classes and class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat provided the foundation of the conflict perspective.

1. Marx believed that class conflict was the key to human history. 2. Marx argued that people should take active steps to change society.

E. Emile Durkheim played an important role in the development of sociology.

1. One of Durkheim’s primary goals was to get sociology recognized as a separate academic discipline.




2. Durkheim studied suicide rates among different groups and concluded that social integration, the degree to which people are tied to their social group, was a key social factor in suicide.

3. Durkheim’s third concern was that social research be practical; sociologists should not only diagnose the causes of social problems but should also develop solutions for them.

F. Max Weber was one of the most influential of all sociologists, raising issues that

remain controversial even today. 1. Weber believed religion was the central force in social change (i.e.

Protestantism encourages greater economic development and was the key factor in the rise of capitalism in some countries).

2. This theory contradicted Marx who believed economics was the central force in social change.

3. Weber advocated that sociological research should be value free, personal values or biases should not influence social research.

4. Research should be objective and totally neutral. 5. Sociologists agree that objectivity is a proper goal but acknowledges that

no one can escape values entirely. Replication, repeating a study to see if the same results are found, is one means to avoid the distortions that values can cause.

6. While sociologists may agree that research should be objective, the proper purposes and uses of sociology are argued among sociologists, with some taking the position that the proper role of sociology is to advance understanding of social life, while others believe that it is the responsibility of sociologists to explore harmful social arrangements of society.




III. Sexism in Early Sociology

A. In the early years of sociology, the field was dominated by men because rigidly defined social roles prevented most women from pursuing an education.

1. Women were supposed to devote themselves to the four K’s: Kirche, Küchen, Kinder, und Kleider (church, cooking, children, and clothes).

2. At the same time, a few women from wealthy families managed to get an education.

B. Harriet Martineau studied social life in both Great Britain and the United States.

1. Martineau published Society in America, documenting her research in Great Britain and the United States.

2. Martineau is also credited with translating Comte’s original works into English.

IV. Sociology in North America

A. Sociology appeared in North America in the late 19th century.

1. The first departments of sociology in the U.S. were at the University of Kansas (1890) and the University of Chicago (1892), and Atlanta University (1897).

2. The first sociology department in Canada was established at McGill University in 1922.

3. Harvard University did not open a department of sociology until 1930.

B. The University of Chicago 1. Albion Small, founder of the department of sociology at the University

of Chicago, also established the American Journal of Sociology. 2. The department of sociology at the University of Chicago dominated

North American sociology. 3. Other early sociologists from the University of Chicago were Robert E.

Park, Ernest Burgess, and George Herbert Mead.

C. Social Reform and Sociology 1. Many sociologists, especially minorities, turned to social activism as the

emphasis of their pursuit of the discipline. 2. Jane Addams founded Hull House, a settlement house for the poor, and

worked to bridge the gap between the powerful and the powerless. 3. W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from

Harvard. He conducted extensive research on race relations in the U.S., publishing a book a year on this subject between 1896 and 1914.

4. Frustrated at the lack of improvements in race relations, Du Bois turned to social action, helping to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

D. By the 1940s, as sociologists became more concerned with establishing sociology




as an academic discipline, the emphasis shifted from social reform to social theory.

1. Talcott Parsons developed abstract models of society to show how the parts of society harmoniously work together.

2. Countering this development was C. Wright Mills, who urged sociologists to get back to social reform. He saw the emergency of the power elite as an imminent threat to freedom.

E. The debate over what should be the proper goals of sociological analysis,

analyzing society or reforming society, continues today. 1. Applied sociology exists between these two extremes. One of the first

attempts at applied sociology was the founding of the NAACP by W.E.B. Du Bois and the establishment of Hull House by Jane Addams.

2. Today, applied sociologists work in a variety of settings, from business and hi-tech to government and not-for-profit agencies.

3. Applied sociology is the application of sociological knowledge. V. Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

A. A theory is a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work.

1. Theory is an explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another.

2. Sociologists use three different theoretical perspectives to understand social behavior: symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.

B. Symbolic interactionism views symbols, things to which we attach meaning, as

the basis of social life. 1. Through the use of symbols people are able to define relationships to

others, to coordinate actions with others thereby making social life possible, and to develop a sense of who and what they are.

2. A symbolic interactionist studying divorce would focus on how the changing meanings of marriage, family and divorce have all contributed to the increase in the rate of divorce in U.S. society.

C. The central idea of functional analysis is that society is a whole unit, made up of

interrelated parts that work together. 1. To understand society, we must look at both structure, how the parts of

society fit together to make up the whole, and function, how each part contributes to society.

2. Robert Merton used the term function to refer to the beneficial consequences of people’s actions to keep society stable and dysfunction to refer to consequences that undermine stability.

3. Functions can be either manifest (actions that are intended) or latent (unintended consequences).




4. In trying to explain divorce, a functionalist would look at how industrialization and urbanization both contributed to the changing function of marriage and the family.

D. According to conflict theory, society is viewed as composed of groups competing

for scarce resources. 1. Karl Marx focused on struggles between the bourgeoisie, the small

group of capitalists who own the means of production, and the proletariat, the masses of workers exploited by the capitalists.

2. Contemporary conflict theorists have expanded this perspective to include conflict in all relations of power and authority.

3. Divorce is seen as the outcome of the shifting balance of power within a family; as women have gained power and try to address inequalities in their relationships, men resist.

E. The perspectives differ in their level of analysis.

1. Functionalists and conflict theorists provide macro-level analysis because they examine the large-scale patterns of society.

2. Symbolic interactionists carry out micro-level analysis because they focus on the small-scale patterns of social life.

F. Each perspective provides a different and often sharply contrasting picture of the

world. However, sociologists often use all three perspectives because no one theory or level of analysis encompasses all of reality.

VI. Doing Sociological Research

A. Common sense cannot be relied on as a source of knowledge. 1. Common sense is highly limited and its insights are often incorrect. 2. To move beyond common sense and understand what is really going on,

it is necessary to do sociological research.

B. Scientific research in sociology follows eight basic steps. Because this is an ideal model it must be kept in mind that in the real world some of the steps might run together.

1. Selecting a topic is guided by sociological curiosity, interest in a particular topic, research funding from governmental or private source, and pressing social issues.

2. Defining the problem involves specifying exactly what the researcher wants to learn about the topic.

3. Reviewing the literature uncovers existing knowledge about the problem, helps to narrow down the problem, and provide ideas about what questions to ask.

4. Formulating a hypothesis involves stating the expected relationship between variables, based on a theory. Hypotheses need operational definitions—precise ways to measure the variables.




5. Choosing a research method is influenced by the research topic. 6. Collecting the data involves concerns over validity, the extent to which

operational definitions measure what was intended, and reliability, the extent to which data produce consistent results. Inadequate operational definitions and sampling hurt reliability.

7. Analyzing the results involves the use of either qualitative or quantitative techniques to analyze data. Computers have become powerful tools in data analysis because they reduce large amounts of data to basic patterns, take the drudgery out of analyzing data, allows the researcher to use a variety of statistical tests, and give the researcher more time to interpret the results.

8. Sharing the results by writing a report and publishing the results makes the findings available for replication.

VII. Research Methods

A. Surveys involve collecting data by having people answer a series of questions. 1. Determine a sample to be studied who represent the population to be

studied. 2. In a random sample everyone in the target population has the same

chance of being included in the study. A stratified random sample is a sample of specific subgroups (e.g. freshmen, sophomores, juniors) of the target population (a college or university) in which everyone in the subgroup has an equal chance of being included in the study.

3. The respondents (people who respond to a survey) must be allowed to express their own ideas so that the findings will not be biased.

4. The questionnaires can be administered either by asking respondents to complete the survey themselves (self-administered questionnaires) or by directly questioning respondents (interviews).

5. In designing a questionnaire the research must consider the effects that interviewers have on respondents that lead to biased answers (interview bias) and whether to make the questions structured (closed-ended questions in which the answers are provided) or unstructured (open-ended questions which people answer in their own words).

6. It is important to establish rapport—a feeling of trust between researchers and subjects.

B. In participant observation, the researcher participates in a research setting while

observing what is happening in that setting. 1. Personal characteristics of the researcher—such as gender, age, race,

personality, and even height and weight—are very important in this type of research.

2. Generalizability—the extent to which the findings from one group (or sample) can be generalized or applied to other groups (or populations)—is a problem in participant observation studies.




C. Secondary analysis, analysis of data already collected by other researchers, is used when resources are limited and/or existing data is an excellent source of information. However, because the researcher did not directly carry out the research, he or she can not be sure that the data were systematically gathered, accurately recorded, and biases avoided.

D. Documents—written sources—may be obtained from many sources, including

books, newspapers, police reports, and records kept by various organizations.

E. Unobtrusive measures are the process of observing social behavior of people who do not know they are being studied.

F. Experiments are especially useful to determine causal relationships.

1. Experiments involve independent and dependent variables. 2. Experiments require an experimental group, the group of subjects

exposed to the independent variable, and a control group, the group of subjects not exposed to the independent variable.

3. Experiments are seldom used in sociology because sociologists are interested in broad features of society or social behavior, or in the actual workings of some group in a natural setting, neither of which lends itself well to an experiment.




VIII. Ethics in Sociological Research

A. Ethics are of fundamental concern to sociologists when it comes to doing research. 1. Ethical considerations include being open, honest, and truthful, not

harming the subject in the course of conducting the research, protecting the anonymity of the research subjects, and not misrepresenting themselves to the research subjects.

2. The Brajuha research demonstrates the lengths sociologists will go to in order to protect the anonymity of research subjects, while the Humphrey’s research illustrates questionable research ethics.

Key Terms applied sociology: the use of sociology to solve problems—from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution (p. 12) basic (or pure) sociology: sociological research whose purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups (p. 12) class conflict: Marx’s term for the struggle between capitalists and workers (p. 6) closed-ended questions: questions followed by a list of possible answers to be selected by the respondent (p. 25) conflict theory: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as being composed of groups competing for scarce resources (p. 18) control group: the group of subjects not exposed to the independent variable (p. 28) dependent variable: a factor that is changed by an independent variable (p. 28) documents: in its narrow sense, written sources that provide data; in its extended sense, archival material of any sort, including photographs, movies, and so on (p. 28) experiment: the use of control groups and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation (p. 28) experimental group: the group of subjects exposed to the independent variable (p. 28) functional analysis: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structural functionalism (p. 16) hypothesis: a statement of the expected relationship between variables according to predictions




from a theory (p. 20) independent variable: a factor that causes a change in another variable, called the dependent variable (p. 28) macro-level analysis: an examination of large-scale patterns of society (p. 19) micro-level analysis: an examination of small-scale patterns of society (p. 19) nonverbal interaction: communication without words through gestures, space, silence, and so on (p. 19) objectivity: total neutrality in research to avoid biased findings (p. 31) open-ended questions: questions that respondents are able to answer in their own words (p. 25) operational definitions: the ways in which variables in a hypothesis are measured (p. 20) participant observation (or fieldwork): research in which the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting (p. 27) population: the target group to be studied (p. 24) positivism: the application of the scientific method to the social world (p. 5) random sample: a sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study (p. 25) rapport: a feeling of trust sociologists try to establish with respondents (p. 27) reliability: the extent to which data produce consistent results (p. 21) replication: repeating a study in order to test its findings (p. 31) research method (or research design): one of six procedures sociologists use to collect data: surveys, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures (p. 20) respondents: people who respond to a survey, either in interviews or by self-administered questionnaires (p. 25) sample: the individuals intended to represent the population to be studied (p. 25) science: requires the development of theories that can be tested by research (p. 5) scientific method: using objective, systematic observations to test theories (p. 5)




secondary analysis: the analysis of data already collected by other researchers (p. 28) social integration: the degree to which people feel a part of social groups (p. 7) social interaction: what people do when they are in one another’s presence (p. 19) social location: the group memberships that people have because of their location in history and society (p. 4) society: people who share a culture and a territory (p. 4) sociological perspective: understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context (p. 4) sociology: the scientific study of society and human behavior (p. 6) stratified random sample: a sample that is randomly selected from certain subgroups using random numbers (p. 25) survey: the collection of data by having people answer a series of questions (p. 24) symbolic interactionism: a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another (p. 15) theory: a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another (p. 14) unobtrusive measures: ways of observing people who do not know they are being studied (p. 29) validity: the extent to which an operational definition measures what was intended (p. 21) value free: the view that a sociologist’s personal values or biases should not influence social research (p. 30) values: the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly (p. 31) variables: factors thought to be significant for behavior, which vary from one case to another (p. 20) Discussion Topics to Encourage Student Participation

To further enhance Henslin’s presentation of the sociological perspective and stimulate class participation, you might invite your students to discuss the following topics:




How is a sociologist’s perspective different from that of a psychologist’s or a

biologist’s? How does seeing the broader social context influence the discipline as a whole?

As a class, identify ways in which the current generation thinks and behaves in

comparison to past generations. Then discuss how some historical and individual experiences could have influenced these changes.

Have the class choose a topic they are interested in. Then develop a research

questions. How might they go about selecting an appropriate method of analysis?

Discuss the importance of the scientific method. Does reliance on the scientific method preclude the use of common sense?

Use Durkheim’s understanding of social integration to discuss whether or not this

sociological insight can be applied to gang violence, teenage pregnancy, and/or drug addiction.

Have your students discuss the extent to which the Protestant Work Ethic has

changed over time in the United States. What influence has the forty-hour work week and new leisure-time activities exerted on this work ethic?

Can sociology really be value free? Should it be? How might sociologists best

research issues such as capital punishment, euthanasia, and/or abortion?

Are the barriers that inhibited women from fully contributing to the early development of sociology still preventing their career opportunities today? Using a sociological perspective, ask students if they believe men can be feminists, or if those in the upper class can truly understand prejudice and racism.

What factors might explain why some early North American sociologists were

more interested in social reform or activism than others? Do these factors generate similar reactions among contemporary sociologists?

How have the changes in the definitions of marriage, family, children, child

rearing, and divorce affected the way we raise children today? What farther reaching impacts might this have in society?

Discuss marriage and family from a symbolic interactionist, functionalist, and conflict perspective. How would each perspective analyze marriage as an institution and a relationship? How would the question of change be approached? What would each perspective offer that the others would not?

How can micro- and macro-analysis contribute to our understanding of

homelessness, poverty, crime, and/or health care issues? What causes and solutions might the two levels of analysis yield relative to these issues?




Classroom Activities and Student Projects

Ask students to define and illustrate the concept of social location. This could be accomplished through open discussion or in essay form. Once the task is completed encourage your students to examine how social location has influenced various aspects of their own lives. Have students apply the concept of social location to the key figures discussed in chapter one.

Divide the class into small groups of five to seven and assign all groups a

particular topic such as gang violence, homelessness, suicide, or teenage pregnancy. Assign each group a role as a functionalist, a conflict theorist , or a symbolic interactionist. Ask each group to develop a presentation explaining the selected topic from that perspective. Each group should be prepared to defend their own perspective and offer a critical assessment of the other.

Encourage your students to self-administer Henslin’s Enjoying a Sociology Quiz

(p. 21). Then ask the students which of the answers they found most surprising. Also ask the students why they think their assumptions were so different from the sociological findings. Were those assumptions based on what they perceived as common sense?

Have your students critically discuss the problems of incorporating common sense

in generalizing about human behavior. Examples of “bad” or “faulty” generalizations based solely on common sense can be gathered from reading newspapers, watching television talk shows, and/or watching local, national, and international news broadcasts.

Divide the class into groups. Assign each group an early sociologist. Send the

groups to the library to find as much information as they can in approximately 30 minutes. Then have them return to class and report what they found.

Using a debate format, have your students examine what role, if any, values play

in social research.

Have students analyze a recent current event in the newspaper from a sociological point of view. Have them compare their focus to that of police officer’s. What key items are they looking for that a police officer would not be looking for, and vice versa?

Suggestions for Guest Speakers and Service Learning Projects

Ask a representative from a local advocacy group to speak about protesting and voicing change in society. Perhaps a speaker who has marched for a cause would best reflect changing social locations and the sociological perspective.




Have students visit a local homeless shelter, soup kitchen, etc. to volunteer. If possible have them visit one on one with clients and/or staff to discuss their experiences. Then have them reflect as a class on what they learned.

Have the students research the difference between feminism and feminist theory.

Visit a women’s museum, invite a guest speaker, or raise funds for a feminist cause.

Most colleges and universities have a committee established for the protection of

human subjects. It is often called the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Ask a member of this committee to explain the guidelines used in assessing ethical issues raised in research proposals. This speaker can highlight the question of values in social research.

Suggested Films

These videos might not be available through Allyn & Bacon. Select additional feature presentations with your Allyn & Bacon guide: The Video Professor: Applying Lessons in Sociology to Classic and Modern Films. 49 Up. First Run Features. 2006, 134 min., (Video). This video provides an example of longitudinal research on children from diverse backgrounds every 7 years. From Social Interaction to Social Structure. Insight Media. 1991, 30 min.(Video). This video shows different levels of social structure and how sociologists study them. Sociological Thinking and Research. Insight Media. 1991, 30 min. (Video).

This video shows how sociologists do analytical work.

Television and Human Behavior. Insight Media. 1992, 26 min.(Video). This video examines television content as a “distorted mirror” of society. The Sociological Perspective. Allyn and Bacon Interactive Video for Introductory Sociology. 1998, 3 min. (Video). A brief introduction to the sociological perspective which works well to present at the beginning of the lecture on Chapter One.

Web Sites Definitions of Globalization – Key Objective 1.1: Increased Globalization http://www.infed.org/biblio/defining_globalization.htm Globalization has become a key idea for business theory, practice, and debate. How might one define globalization? Jan Aart Scholte’s discussion of five, key, broad definitions of globalization are explored here.


Chapter 2: Culture


Famous Sociologists – Key Objective 1.3: Development of Sociology http://www.sociosite.net/topics/sociologists.php Find information on over 50 modern and classical sociologists. Here one can initiate research on a particular sociological theory or theorist. The site provides a wide range of information on each individual, emphasizing their academic work. Eight Steps in Research – Key Objective 1.6: Steps in Research http://www.miracosta.edu/home/pperry/workbook/UNIT6_Research.pdf This site introduces students to the steps involved in research and writing papers. The Tearoom Study – Key Objective 1.9: Ethics in Research http://www.emhr.net/download.php?id=1 Laud Humphreys, a sociology graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, published “Tearoom Trade,” a study of homosexual encounters in men’s rooms to gather data for his doctoral dissertation. The Society for Applied Sociology – Key Objective 1.10: Research and Theory http://www.aacsnet.org/wp/ When students ask, “What do sociologists do?” this site may bring their queries into light. A distinguished body of practitioners and academicians, The Society for Applied Sociology uses sociological principles, social ideals, and ethical considerations to improve society.




Additional References Berger, Peter L. 1963. “Invitation to Sociology” in Invitation to Sociology: Humanistic

Perspective. New York: Doubleday and Co. Inc. Campbell, Frederick L., Hubert M. Blalock, and Reece McGee (eds.). 1985. Teaching

Sociology: The Quest for Excellence. Chicago: Nelson Hall. Cuzzort, R.P. and E. W. Wing. 1995. Twentieth Century Social Thought, Fifth

edition. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Dorn, D.S. 1987. “The First Day of Class: Problems and Strategies.” Teaching

Sociology. 15: pp. 61-72. Fowler, Lori. 2006. Introduction to Sociology, A Real World Approach. Fifth Edition.

CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Shively, JoEllen. 1998. “Cowboys and Indians: Perceptions of Western Films among American Indians and Anglos” in Robert Thompson (ed.) The Essential Sociology Reader. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.


Chapter 2: Culture


Chapter Two Culture

Chapter 2 Culture: At-a-Glance

Detailed Outline

Key Terms and Theorists

Media and Print Supplements

What is culture? • Culture and

Taken-for-Granted Orientations to Life

• Practicing Cultural Relativism

• Material culture: includes tools and the

technology to use them, art, jewelry, buildings, machines, and so on.

• Non-material culture: a group’s way of thinking, its values and beliefs.

• Culture Shock: disorientation that people experience when they come into contact with a fundamentally different culture.

• Ethnocentrism: using one’s own culture as a yardstick to judge other individuals or societies.

• Cultural Relativism: trying to understand a different culture on its own terms.

Instructor Resource CD-ROM

Study Guide Plus: Ch. 2 Spanish Study Guide (found on the Companion Website)

Test Bank: Ch. 2 Computerized Test Bank Instructor’s Manual: Ch. 2 Study Guide with PowerPoint Lecture Outlines: Ch. 2

Sociology Transparencies Companion Website: www.ablongman.com/henslin

Digital Media Archive The Video Professor: Culture Cultural Diversity in the United States Culture Shock: The Arrival of the Hmong p. 38

Cultural Diversity Around the World You Are What You Eat? p. 40

Components of Symbolic Culture • Gestures • Language • Language and

Perception: The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

• Values, Norms and Sanctions

• Folkways and Mores

• Gestures: the way in which people use their

bodies to communicate with one another. • Language: a system of symbols that can be

combined in an infinite number of ways to convey abstract thought.

• Values: what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad.

• Norms: expectations or rules of behavior that develop to reflect and enforce values.

• Moral Holiday: a specified time when people are allowed to break norms, such as Mardi Gras.

• Folkways: norms that are not strictly enforced.

• Mores: norms that are essential to core values and strictly enforced by members of society.

Figure 2.1 Gestures to Indicate Height, Southern Mexico p.42

Cultural Diversity in the United States Miami-The Controversy over Language p. 45

Cultural Diversity in the United States Race and Language: Searching for Self-Labels p. 46

Many Cultural Worlds • Subcultures • Countercultures

• Subculture: a world within the larger world of

the dominant culture. • Counterculture: a group whose values,

beliefs, and related behavior places it in

ABC Video Blinded by Hate Photo Montage Subcultures p. 50–51




opposition to the broader culture. Values in U.S. Society • An Overview of

U.S. Values • Value Clusters • Value

Contradictions • Emerging Values • Culture Wars:

When Values Clash

• Values as Blinders

• “Ideal” Versus “Real” Culture

• Pluralistic Society: a society made up of

many different groups. • Value Cluster: a series of interrelated values

that together form a larger whole. • Value Contradiction: values that contradict

one another; to follow one means to come into conflict with the other.

• Emerging Values: a value cluster of four interrelated core values are emerging in the U.S.: leisure, self fulfillment, physical fitness, and youthfulness.

• Ideal Culture: the ideal values and norms of a group.

• Real Culture: the norms and values that people actually follow.

Mass Media in Social Life Why Do Native Americans Like Westerns? p. 52

ABC Video Race Riots in Northern Ireland

Technology in the Global Village • The New

Technology • Cultural Lag and

Cultural Change • Technology and

Cultural Leveling

• Cultural Lag: Ogburn’s term for human

behavior lagging behind technological innovations.

• Cultural Diffusion: the spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another.

• Cultural Leveling: the process by which cultures become similar to one another.

ABC Video Native Americans Tribe’s Rights Questioned

PROFESSOR’S NOTES


Chapter 2: Culture


Chapter Summary: Culture

What is culture? The concept is sometimes easier to grasp by description than definition. Culture is universal. All human groups create a design for living that includes both material and nonmaterial culture. Ideal culture, a group’s ideal norms and values, exists alongside its real culture, the actual behavior which often falls short of the cultural ideals.

All people perceive and evaluate the world through the lens of their own culture. People are naturally ethnocentric, that is, they use their own culture as a standard against which to judge other cultures. Sociologists refer to this innate tendency to take culture for granted as “the culture within us.” In comparison, cultural relativism tries to understand other people within the framework of their own culture.

The central component of nonmaterial culture is symbols. These include gestures, language, values, norms, sanctions, folkways, and mores. Language is essential for culture because it allows us to move beyond the present, sharing with others our past experiences and our future plans. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language not only expresses our thinking and perceptions but actually shapes them.

All groups have values and norms. Values underlie our preferences, guide our choices, and indicate what we hold worthwhile in life. Norms are the expectations that develop to reflect and enforce values. Positive and negative sanctions are used to show approval or disapproval of those who do or don’t follow the norms.

A subculture is a group whose values and behaviors set it apart from the general culture. Subcultures develop based on a wide variety of factors. These include race, ethnicity, religion, occupation, geographic location, and status. A counterculture holds values that stand in opposition to the dominant culture.

Although the U.S. is a pluralistic society made up of many groups, each with its own set of values, certain core values dominate. Some values cluster together to form a larger whole. Core values that contradict one another indicate areas of social tension and are likely points of social change.

Cultural universals are values, norms or other cultural traits that are found in all cultures.

Key Changes to the Eighth Edition Cultural Diversity in the United States Culture Shock: The Arrival of the Hmong p. 38




Learning Objectives After reading Chapter 2, the student should be able to:

2.1 Define culture and explain its material and nonmaterial components.

2.2 Explain why ethnocentrism is a natural tendency and why this orientation towards your own and other cultures can lead to culture shock.

2.3 State what cultural relativism is and discuss why it is a worthwhile goal even though it presents challenges to us.

2.4 Discuss the components of symbolic culture.

2.5 Explain the importance of gestures for communications, and discuss how gestures

relate to culture.

2.6 Identify the different ways in which language makes human life possible.

2.7 Define the following terms: values, norms, sanctions, folkways, mores, and taboos.

2.8 Compare and contrast dominant culture, subcultures, and countercultures.

2.9 List core values in United States society as identified by James Henslin.

2.10 Explain what is meant by value clusters and value contradictions.

2.11 Explain what the author of your text means when he says values can act as blinders.

2.12 Explain the difference between “ideal” and “real” culture, providing examples.

2.13 State what technology is and how it is changing cultures.

2.14 Define cultural lag and explain its role in relationship to cultural change.

2.15 Discuss the link between technology, cultural diffusion, and cultural leveling.

Chapter Outline

I. What is Culture?

A. Culture is defined as the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects passed from one generation to the next.

1. Material culture is things such as jewelry, art, buildings, weapons, machines, clothing, hairstyles, and so on.


Chapter 2: Culture


2. Nonmaterial culture is a group’s ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and common patterns of behavior (language, gestures, and other forms of interaction).

B. Culture provides a taken-for-granted orientation to life.

1. We assume that our own culture is normal or natural; in fact, it is not natural, but rather is learned.

2. Culture penetrates our lives so deeply that it is taken for granted and provides the lens through which we evaluate things.

3. Culture provides implicit instructions that tell us what we ought to do and a moral imperative that defines what we think is right and wrong.

4. Coming into contact with a radically different culture produces “culture shock,” challenging our basic assumptions.

5. A consequence of internalizing culture is ethnocentrism, using our own culture (and assuming it to be good, right, and superior) to judge other cultures. It is functional when it creates in-group solidarity, but can be dysfunctional if it leads to harmful discrimination.

C. Cultural relativism consists of trying to appreciate other groups’ ways of life in

the context in which they exist, without judging them as superior or inferior to our own.

1. This view helps us to appreciate other ways of life. 2. Robert Edgerton argues that those cultural practices that result in

exploitation should be judged morally inferior to those that enhance people’s lives.

II. Components of Symbolic Culture

A. Sociologists sometimes refer to nonmaterial culture as symbolic culture.

1. A central component of culture is the use of symbols, something to which people attach meaning, which people use to communicate.

2. Symbols include gestures, language, values, norms, sanctions, folkways, and mores.

B. Gestures, using one’s body to communicate with others, are shorthand means of

communication. 1. Gestures are used by people in every culture, although the meanings

differ. 2. There is disagreement over whether there are any universal gestures.

C. Language consists of a system of symbols that can be put together in an infinite

number of ways in order to communicate abstract thought. 1. Each word is a symbol to which a culture attaches a particular meaning. It

is important because it is the primary means of communication between people.




2. It allows human experiences to be cumulative; each generation builds on the body of significant experiences that is passed on to it by the previous generation, thus freeing people to move beyond immediate experiences.

3. It allows shared perspectives or understandings of the past and the future. 4. It allows humans to exchange perspectives, i.e. ideas about events and

experiences. 5. It allows people to engage in complex, shared, goal-directed behavior. 6. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that our thinking and perception not

only are expressed by language but actually are shaped by language because we are taught not only words but also a particular way of thinking and perceiving. Rather than objects and events forcing themselves onto our consciousness, our very language determines our consciousness.

D. Culture includes values, norms, and sanctions.

1. Values are the standards by which people define good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Every group develops both values and expectations regarding the right way to reflect them.

2. Norms are the expectations, or rules of behavior, that develop out of a group’s values.

3. Sanctions are the positive or negative reactions to the way in which people follow norms. Positive sanctions (a money reward, a prize, a smile, or even a handshake) are expressions of approval; negative sanctions (a fine, a frown, or harsh words) denote disapproval for breaking a norm.

E. Norms vary in terms of their importance to a culture.

1. Folkways are norms that are not strictly enforced, such as passing on the left side of the sidewalk. They may result in a person getting a dirty look.

2. Mores are norms that are believed to be essential to core values and we insist on conformity. A person who steals, rapes, and kills has violated some of society’s most important mores.

3. Norms that one group considers to be folkways another group may view as mores. A male walking down the street with the upper half of his body uncovered may be violating a folkway; a female doing the same thing may be violating accepted mores.

4. Taboos are norms so strongly ingrained that even the thought of them is greeted with revulsion. Eating human flesh and having sex with one’s parents are examples of such behavior.

III. Many Cultural Worlds: Subcultures and Countercultures A. Subcultures and countercultures are often found within a broader culture.

1. Subcultures are groups whose values and related behaviors are so distinct that they set their members off from the dominant culture.

2. Each subculture is a world within the larger world of the dominant culture, and has a distinctive way of looking at life, but remains compatible with the dominant culture.


Chapter 2: Culture
