Introduction to Sociology
by
Dr. Ron J. Hammond
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Dr. Ron J. Hammond and Dr. Paul Cheney on Smashwords
Introduction to Sociology
Copyright © 2010 by Dr. Ron J. Hammond
This book is being released under a Creative Commons License of Attribution (BY). This means that you are free to use the materials contained in this work for any purpose as long as credit is given to the authors. More free books available at freebooks.uvu.edu.
Chapter 01 History & Introduction
Chapter 02 Sociological Imagination
Chapter 04 Scientific Sociology
Chapter 19 Collective Behaviors
Chapter 20 Rape & Sexual Assault
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Chapter 01 - History and Introduction
This New Science of Societies: Sociology
Sociology is a relatively new discipline in comparison to chemistry, math, biology, philosophy and other disciplines that trace back thousands of years. Sociology began as an intellectual/philosophical effort by a French man named Auguste Comte (born 1798 and died 1857). He is considered the founder of sociology and coined "Sociology." Comte's Definition of Sociology is the science of society. In his observation Comte believed that society's knowledge passed through 3 stages which he observed in France. His life came in what he called the positivism stage (science-based). Positivism is the objective and value-free observation, comparison, and experimentation applied to scientific inquiry. Positivism was Comte's way of describing the science needed for sociology to takes its place among the other scientific disciplines.
His core work, "The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte" was translated by a British-born philosopher named Harriet Martineau (1802-1876). She literally clarified Comte's original writing as she condensed it into a concise English language version. This expanded the interest in sociology to include English speakers. Martineau held values that are common today but were way before her time. She opposed oppression, especially of women and Black slaves in the US. Her own work about society which first addressed this, Society In America has been scanned and is free (public domain) to read at http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AfT2MxEbcjQC&dq=Martineau+%22Society+in+America%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 .
Why did thinkers of the day find a need for a new science of sociology? Societies had change in unprecedented ways and had formed a new collective of social complexities that the world had never witnessed before. Western Europe was transformed by the Industrial Revolution, a technological development of knowledge and manufacturing that began in the late 1600s and continued until the early 1900s. The Industrial Revolution transformed society at every level. Look at Table 1 below to see pre and post-Industrial Revolution social patterns and how different they were.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, families lived on smaller farms and every able member of the family did work to support and sustain the family economy. Towns were small and very similar (homogamy) and families were large (more children=more workers). There was a lower standard of living and because of poor sanitation people died earlier.
After the Industrial Revolution, farm work was replaced by factory work. Men left their homes and became breadwinners earning money to buy many of the goods that used to be made by hand at home (or bartered for by trading one's own homemade goods with another's). Women became the supervisors of home work. Much was still done by families to develop their own home goods while many women and children also went to the factories to work. Cities became larger and more diverse (heterogamy). Families became smaller (less farm work required fewer children). Eventually, standards of living increased and death rates declined.
It is important to note the value of women's work before and after the Industrial Revolution. Hard work was the norm and still is today for most women. Homemaking included much unpaid work. For example, my 93 year old Granny is an example of this. She worked hard her entire life both in a cotton factory and at home raising her children, grand-children, and at times great grand-children. When I was a boy, she taught me how to make lye soap by saving the fat from animals they ate. She'd take a metal bucket and poked holes in the bottom of it. Then she burned twigs and small branches until a pile of ashes built up in the bottom of the bucket. After that she filtered water from the well through the ashes and collected the lye water runoff in a can. She heated the animal fat and mixed it in the lye water from the can. When it cooled, it was cut up and used as lye soap. They'd also take that lye water runoff and soak dried white corn in it. The corn kernel shells would become loose and slip off after being soaked. They'd rinse this and use it for hominy. Or grind it up and make grits from it. We'll talk more about women and work in Chapter 10.
These pre and post-industrial changes impacted all of Western civilization because the Industrial Revolution hit all of these countries about the same way: Western Europe, United States, Canada, and later Japan and Australia. The Industrial Revolution brought some rather severe social conditions which included: deplorable city living conditions; crowding; crime; extensive poverty; inadequate water and sewage; early death, frequent accidents, and high illness rates. The new social problems required a new science that was unique from any scientific disciplines of the day. Comte wanted a strong scientific basis for sociology, but because of various distractions he never quite established it.
Core Founders of Sociology
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was the first to take a position in a university and because of the scientific journal he edited, L'AnnŽe Sociologique (the sociological year) and his scientific work, he was able to help sociology to become part of higher education's academic culture. He was also French and took the first position at a university as a sociology professor.
Durkheim discussed Social Facts, a phenomena within society that typically exists independent of individual choices and actions. Durkheim approached a subject that most thought of as being exclusively individualistic in nature-suicide. But, he defined suicide from a social fact perspective which helped him to establish the unique wisdom of sociological analysis.
To Durkheim, individual people don't cause suicide, suicide is a social fact that some members of society participate in for various social reason. Durkheim studied suicide among categories of people in various contexts in Western Europe. He found 4 distinct types of suicide that occur as social facts and that could be collectively remedied by adjusting social processes. Before we explain these let's look at 2 core sociological concepts.
Social Integration is the degree to which people are connected to their social groups. Let's check your own personal degree of social integration. On a piece of paper right down how many close family members you have. Then add in how many close friends and coworkers you have. Finally add in all others whose name you know and they know yours. This number is one measure of your social integration. But, to really get an idea you might evaluate these relationships. In other words list your top 6 closest relationships in order. Make a short list of the 6 closest relationships you have. Now, rank 1 for the closest, 2 for next closest and so on up to 6th. Durkheim realized from his suicide studies that the closer we are to others, the more socially integrated we are and the less likely we are to commit suicide. The second concept to understand is called anomie.
Anomie is a state of relative normlessness that comes from the disintegration of our routines and regulations. Anomie is common when we go through sudden changes in our lives or when we live in larger cities. Sudden changes bring stress and frustration. To illustrate this, I often tell my students to remember how they felt the day after high school graduation. They walk for graduation then wake up the next morning with very few demands on their time and energies. This sudden shift in demands from very intense to almost absent, leads many to feel extremely frustrated and lost. Add to that they are now adults and no longer students (children) and you get a prime formula for anomie (role shift + vague expectations about what is expected + sudden change=anomie).
One of my college students told me that at the end of last semester she had 4 finals, one paper, two presentations, and one lab project all due in the last 5 days of class. She finished it all, packed, and moved back home. The first morning she woke up at home she got out her planner and realized that all she had to do that day, in other words all the demands placed upon her were to eat and shower. She was not a full-time university student for now and was between significant roles. "It took a week to get my life back into a routine for the break," she explained.
As a larger social fact, anomie is a byproduct of large complex societies, especially around large cities. It's easier to get lost in the crowd, not be noticed, and to rarely receive praise or criticism for personal actions. Durkheim and others were aware that society impacted the life of the individual even if the individual had very little impact on society. By the way, Durkheim measured suicide rates and so do we in our day. Suicide is the purposeful ending of one's own life for any reason. Suicide Rate is the numbers of suicides per 100,000 people in a population.
Durkheim's first 2 types of suicide had to do with the degree of social integration of the individual into their groups. Altruistic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are over involved and over committed to a group or society as a whole. This occurs when the needs of society as a whole override the needs of the individual. Soldiers often do this to protect their comrades.
Egoistic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are under-involved or under-committed to groups. This is the loner-type suicide when an individual is disconnected (or never connected) to others. Certain social pressures isolate us more than others and suicide becomes more risky for the isolated. Certain social forces within society create this isolated state within us (TV viewing, video games, online time, and other solo activities that preoccupy us with our own interest and isolate us from our groups and relationships; see www.youtube.com and search "James at war Halo3" for a humorous example of technology isolating us from others).
Interestingly, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center gives a few suicide prevention strategies that relate to social integration:. "Strong connections to family and community support cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservations and various other types of social support are recommended" (retrieved 13 January, 2009 from www.sprc.org the "Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide," National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action, 2001). Interestingly Durkheim's work is quoted multiple times on this Website.
The next 2 types of suicide described by Durkheim have to do with the levels of social control and social regulation. Anomic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are under-regulated by familiar norms that serve as anchors to their social reality. You'd expect this type of suicide in very large cities or when dramatic social changes have transpired (e.g., 9-11 terrorist attacks or recent economic recessions).
Fatalistic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are over regulated or over-constrained. This might happen in oppressive societies where people prefer to die rather than continue under the hopeless state of oppression (IE: prisoners of war, inmates, and refugees). The US Center for Disease Control list Suicide as the 11th most common form of death with about 32,000+ US suicides reported last year. That's a rate of 11 suicides per 100,000 living people (retrieved 23 April, 2009 from Suicide and Self-inflicted Injury at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm).
In Durkheim's day he found highest suicide rates for Protestants, males, singles, and wealthy persons. He found lowest rates for Jews, Catholics, females, marrieds, and poor persons. Many of these are still common predictors of suicide today. The World Health Organization reported that worldwide the suicide rates show clear patterns being higher for males at all ages and especially higher for the elderly (retrieved 23 April, 2009 from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap7.pdf). This report also noted that the highest suicide rates in the world were reported in: Lithuania 51.6; Russian Federation 43.1; and Belarus 41.5/100,000 population. Interesting isn't it at the 3 worst countries are geographically close together? Durkheim found geographic patterns within his researched countries, too. The countries with the 3 lowest suicide rates were: Azerbaijan 1.1; Kuwait 2.0; and Philippines 2.1/100,000 population (*retrieved 23 April 2009 from World Report on Violence and Health, Table 7.1, "Age-Adjusted suicide rates by country from www.UN.org English).
Look at Figure 1 below to see a recent pattern of suicide rates in the United States. Since 1950 male rates (red line) have gone down overall, but did experience a slight increase in the early 1990s. Male's rates are the highest. The blue line is the combination of males and females into the total and it parallels the other lines about mid-range. The green line represents females. Females typically commit less suicide than males in most countries of the world.
I use many figures and charts in this books so let me just point out a few tricks to reading them. Look at the legend on the side or bottom of the charts. It tells you which lines represent which categories. Also look at the title to make sure you read the details of what is being represented.
Now let's consider the US rates by age. Look at Figure 2 below. Ironic, isn't it that the older persons (persons with the most wisdom and experience) would have the highest suicide rates? The 75-84 and 85+ age categories have the highest suicide rates while the 15-24 years olds have the lowest. Durkheim would argue that these rates are social facts and that at the core of the problem lies social level processes that either facilitate or inhibit personal choices by exerting social pressures.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was an influential person in the development of sociology as a strong academic discipline. He was not a sociologist. He was an economist, philosopher, and revolutionary. Marx was born in Germany and his writings on the class struggles that existed in society wherein the poor masses are exploited by the few wealthy elite still apply today (perhaps even more so than in his day). His philosophy and the timing of his writings helped early sociologists in the development of social theories and scientific approaches. We will talk more about Marx and Conflict Theory in Chapter 3.
Another key German founder of sociology was Max Weber (pronounced vey-bur) (1864-1920). He was a very intelligent person who strongly influenced the development of sociology and taught some of the other early sociologists of his day. Weber studied economics and his work gave balance to Karl Marx's extreme ideas. He studied religion and the economy and published a work called, "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." He also studied bureaucracies and defined Ideal Type as the abstract description of a social phenomena by which actual social phenomena may be compared (You'll see an ideal type in Chapter 9 on caste versus class economic systems). Ideal Types are given as hypothetical examples and we can compare current economic systems to them.
Another early sociologist was a British man named Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). Herbert is remembered for his failed ideas about survival of the fittest in society (not the animal kingdom). He is most remembered for the sociology that wasn't. In other words, he believed that survival of the fittest applied to classes within society and that the wealthy aristocrats were the fittest. Whatever the wealthy people did was in effect better for society in the long run. The problem with his philosophy is that it was not supported by scientific inquiry. In fact his complex ideas were interesting, but not a good explanation of social processes and their causes when put to scientific rigors.
Eventually scientists adopted sociology in the US. Lester Ward is considered the founder of US sociology (1841-1913). Ward saw sociology and its potential to better the society in the US as tool. He emphasized the scientific methodology in using sociology to solve real world social ills such as poverty. He, like Martineau felt that women had rights and should be treated as equals (most in his day thought he was wrong about women at the time because the prevailing belief was the inferiority of women). Ward is the founder of US sociology and first president of the American Sociological Association (see www.asanet.org ). His sociological principles and processes are still utilized by many who work in governmental and social service sectors today.
Another sociologist from the US was Talcott Parsons (1902-1979). Parsons was a Functional Theorist who did extensive work on Systems Theory (see Chapter 3). Parsons was also a president of the American Sociological Association and for a short period of time was the world's premier sociologist. His work at Harvard supported much of the professionalism sociology has today.
Sociology began in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, then the United States. Sociology waxed and waned in popularity outside of the US over its short history. Today, sociology has become a United States-centered scientific discipline with most sociologists living in the US. There is significant sociological work being done in various countries of the world, but most of the 14,000 members of the American Sociological Association (the world's largest professional sociology organization) live in the US.
During the 1920s and 1930s the Chicago School was a center for sociological research that focuses on urban and ecological sociological issues. Within the Chicago School were 2 other important US sociologists, Charles H. Cooley (1864-1929) and George Herbert Mead (1863-1931). Their work together gave tremendous support to the Symbolic Interactionism Theory (Chapter 3). The construction of how we form the "I" and the "me", the self-concept, and the looking glass self (see Chapter 6) was crucial and is still widely used in today's scientific inquiry.
United States Sociology: A Career?
Other notable people who majored or made a career in sociology include: The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.; W. E. B. Du Bois; Georg Simmel, Alex de Tocqueville, Jorgen Habermas; Amati Etzioni; Ronald Reagan; Robin Williams and Dan Aykroyd; Anthony Giddens; and First Lady, Michelle Obama. Most people who take sociology take only 1 course (that's estimated to be 600,000 US students per year). But more and more are choosing it as a major. The next 3 figures, Figures 3, 4, and 5 show the numbers of sociology graduates from 1990 to 2004 at the Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral level.
In Figure 3 you can see that over 20,000 students graduate each year with a sociology Bachelor's degree. Many of them find work in government, social service, business, and other service-related sectors of the economy. Figure 4 shows that about 2,000 graduates earn their Master's degree in sociology each year. And in Figure 4 you can see that about 550 students graduate each year with their Doctorate in sociology. Of course the career with a doctorate pays the best, has the best career advancement opportunities, and is the most comprehensive training for research and theory that a student could acquire.
Sociology
is a good 4-year program and also offers good career opportunities.
Money Magazine often rates good jobs in the US. Sociologists had an
average pay of $68,724 with an estimated high range of about $138,000
per year (retrieved 24 April, 2009 from
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2006/snapshots/196.html
Best Jobs in America). This report also ranked college professors as
the 2nd best job in America. Over half full-time doctoral-level
sociologists are faculty at colleges and universities
(www.asanet.org).
If I'm right, you probably won't major in sociology and you likely just needed the 3 credits of social science elective. I admire you for being in higher education. I urge you to graduate with your four-year degree. This course and textbook will enhance your thinking, science, and writing skills and make you an overall better student. Enjoy it. Ask questions of your professor. Participate in the classroom discussion. If you do choose sociology as a major, then look me up at your next sociological conference meetings.
Chapter 02 - Sociological Imagination
Seeing the Social World in A New Light: Personal & Larger Social
The average person lives too narrow a life to get a clear and concise understanding of today’s complex social world. Our daily lives are spent among friends and family; at work and at play, and watching TV and surfing the Internet. No way can one person grasp the big picture from their relatively isolated lives. There’s just not enough time or capacity to be exposed to the large crowd complexities of a society of 305 million people. There are thousands of communities, millions of interpersonal interaction, billions of Internet information sources, and countless trends that transpire without many of us even knowing they exist. What can we do to make sense of it all?
You know, psychology gave us the understanding of self-esteem; economics gave us the understanding of supply and demand, political science gave us the understanding of polling; and physics gave us the Einstein theory of E=MC2. When I learned of the sociological imagination by Mills, I realized that it gives us a framework for understanding our social world that far surpasses any common sense notion we might derive from our limited social experiences. C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) was a contemporary sociologist who brought tremendous insight into the daily lives of society’s members. Mills stated that “neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both" (Mills, C. W. 1959. The Sociological Imagination page ii; Oxford U. Press). Mills identified “Troubles” (personal challenges) and "Issues" (Larger social challenges) that are key principles for providing us with a framework for really wrapping our minds around many of the hidden social processes that transpire in an almost invisible manner in today’s societies. Before we discuss personal troubles and larger social issues let’s define a social fact.
Social Facts are social processes rooted in society rather than in the individual. Émile Durkheim (1858-1917, France) studied the “science of social facts” in an effort to identify social correlations and ultimately social laws designed to make sense of how modern societies worked given that they became increasingly diverse and complex(see Émile Durkheim, The Rules of the Sociological Method, (Edited by Steven Lukes; translated by W.D. Halls). New York: Free Press, 1982, pp. 50-59). See the Sociological Imagination diagram below.
The national cost of a gallon of gas, the War in the Middle east, the repressed economy, the trend of having too few females in the 18-24 year old singles market, and the ever-increasing demand for plastic surgery are just a few of the social facts at play today. Social facts are typically outside of the control of average people. They occur in the complexities of modern society and impact us, but we rarely find a way to significantly impact them back. This is because, as Mills taught, we live much of our lives on the personal level and much of society happens at the larger social level. Without a knowledge of the larger social and personal levels of social experience, we live in what Mills called a False Social Conscious is an ignorance of social facts and the larger social picture.
Personal Troubles are private problems experienced within the character of the individual and the range of their immediate relation to others. Mills identified the fact that we function in our personal lives as actors and actresses who make choices about our friends, family, groups, work, school, and other issues within our control. We have a degree of influence in the outcome of matters within the personal level. A college student who parties 4 nights out of 7, who rarely attends class, and who never does his homework has a personal trouble that interferes with his odds of success in college. But, when 50 percent of all college students in the country never graduate we call it a larger social issue.
Larger Social Issues are those that lie beyond one's personal control and the range of one's inner life. These pertain to society's organization and processes. These are rooted in society rather than in the individual. Nationwide, students come to college as freshmen ill-prepared to understand the rigors of college life. They haven’t often been challenged enough in high school to make the necessary adjustments required to succeed as college students. Nationwide, the average teenager text messages, surfs the Net, plays video or online games, hangs out at the mall, watches TV and movies, spends hours each day with friends, and works at least part-time. Where and when would he or she get experience focusing attention on college studies and the rigors of self-discipline required to transition into college credits, a quarter or a semester, study, papers, projects, field trips, group work, or test taking.
In a survey conducted each year by the US Census Bureau, findings suggest that in 2006 the US had about 84 percent of the population who graduated high school ( http:// www.factfinder.uscensus.gov ; see table R1501 at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R1501&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-format=US-30 ). They also found that only 27 percent had a bachelors degree ( http:// www.factfinder.uscensus.gov ; see table R1502 at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R1502&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-redoLog=false&-format=US-30&-mt_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_R1501_US30 ). Given the numbers of freshmen students enrolling in college, the percentage with a bachelors degree should be closer to 50 percent.
The majority of college first year students drop out, because nationwide we have a deficit in the preparation and readiness of Freshmen attending college and a real disconnect in their ability to connect to college in such a way that they feel they belong to it. In fact college dropouts are an example of both a larger social issue and a personal trouble. Thousands of studies and millions of dollars have been spent on how to increase a freshman student’s odds of success in college (graduating with a 4-year degree). There are millions and millions of dollars of grant monies awarded each year to help retain college students. Interestingly, almost all of the grants are targeted in such a way that a specific college can create a specific program to help each individual student stay in college and graduate.
The real power of the sociological imagination is found in how you and I learn to distinguish between the personal and social levels in our own lives. Once we do, we can make personal choices that serve us best, given the larger social forces that we face. In 1991 I graduated with my Ph.D. and found myself in a very competitive job market for University professor/researcher positions. With hundreds of my own job applications out there, I kept finishing second or third and was losing out to 10 year veteran professors who applied for entry level jobs. I looked carefully at the job market, my deep interest in teaching, the struggling economy, and my sense of urgency in obtaining a salary and benefits. I came to the decision to switch my job search focus from university research to college teaching positions. Again the competition was intense. On my 301st job application (that’s not an exaggeration) I was interviewed and beat out 47 other candidates for my current position. In this case, knowing and seeing the larger social troubles that impacted my success or failure helped in finding a position. Because of the Sociological Imagination, I was empowered because I understood the larger social job market and was able to best situate myself within it.
Making Sense of Divorce Using the Sociological Imagination
Let’s apply the sociological imagination to something most students are deeply concerned about—divorce. Are there larger social and personal factors that will impact your own risk of divorce? Yes. In spite of the fact that 223,000,000 people are married in the US, divorce continues to be a very common occurrence (see http://www.Census.gov ). Divorce happens and since millions of us (me included) had our parent’s divorce, we are especially concerned about the success of our own marriage.
What’s in the larger social picture? Estimates for the US are that about 85 percent of us will marry (Popenoe, D. 2007 in 5 June, 2008 from http://marriage.rutgers.edu/Publications/SOOU/TEXTSOOU2007.htm ). Yet, so many of us feel tremendous anxiety about marriage. Consider the marriage and divorce rates in Table 1 below. The first thing you notice is that both have been declining since 1990. The second thing you notice is that the ratio of marriages to divorces is consistently 2 marriages to 1 divorce (2:1). By the way, the divorce and marriage rates in Table 1 are called Crude Divorce and Crude Marriage rates because they compare the divorces and marriages to everyone in the population for a given year, even though children and others have virtually no risk of either marrying or divorcing.
Does sociology provide personal and larger social insight into what we can do to have a good marriage and avoid divorce? Absolutely! But, before we discuss these, lets set the record straight. There never was a 1 in 2 chance of getting divorced in the US ( see http://www.Rutgers.edu the National Marriage Project, 2004 “The State of Our Unions” or Kalman Heller “The Myth of the High Rate of Divorce taken from Internet 5 June, 2008 from http://www.isnare.com/?aid=217950&ca=Marriage ). Divorce rates peaked in the 1980’s and have steadily declined since then (See Figure 1 below). Even though all married people are at risk of divorcing, most of them won’t divorce. Many studies have consistently shown exactly how our personal choices and behaviors can actually minimize our chances of divorce. Here’s a brief summary:
-Wait to marry until you reach your mid-20’s. Teens who marry have the highest risk of divorce. A young stressed couple (see Center for Disease Control “First Marriage Dissolution, Divorce, and Remarriage: United States taken from Internet 5 July, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad323.pdf ).
-Avoid cohabitation if you plan to ever marry. While cohabitation is on the rise in the US, it is still associated with higher risks of divorce once one is married. Numerous studies have rigorously researched the impact of having cohabited on the odds of marital success. (see Lisa Mincieli and Kristin Moore, "The Relationship Context of Births Outside of Marriage: The Rise of Cohabitation," Child Trends Research Brief 2007-13 (May 2007); or Matthew D. Bramlett and William D. Mosher, Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the United States, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital and Health Statistics, 23 (22), 2002; Or Larry Bumpass and Hsien-Hen Lu, "Trends in Cohabitation and Implications for Children’s Family Contexts in the U. S.," Population Studies 54 (2000): 29-41; or Jay Teachman, "Premarital Sex, Premarital Cohabitation, and the Risk of Subsequent Marital Disruption among Women," Journal of Marriage and the Family 65 (2003): 444-455.
-Finish college. College graduates divorce less then dropouts or high school graduates (see http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11422/315/adultdiv/divfactos.html ).
-Be aware of the three-strike issue: Strike 1, you are poor; Strike 2, you are a teenager when you marry; and Strike 3, you are pregnant when you marry. This could prove to be a terminal combination of risk factors as far as staying married is concerned. These three in combination with others listed below may increase your risk factors.
-Know which factors you can control that will likely impact your marital success odds. Other scientifically identified divorce risk factors include: high personal debt; falling out of love; not proactively maintaining your marital relationship; marrying someone who has little in common with you; infidelity; remaining mentally “on the marriage market…waiting for someone better to come along” having parents who divorced; neither preparing for nor managing the stresses that come with raising children; and divorcing because the marriage appears unhappy and hopeless in terms of resolving negative issues ( see Glenn, N. 1991 “Recent trends in Marital Success in the US” May, J. of Marriage and the Family, pages 261-270). Often couples on the fringe of divorce later emerge from those states of unhappiness and hopelessness with renewed happiness and hope, by simply enduring the difficult years together.
In all of these factors listed above you can decide how to best situate yourself to deal with the factors. But, as Mills taught, you must consider both personal and larger social issues simultaneously to fully benefit from the sociological imagination. It is true that divorce is still very common in the US. Notice the peak on this figure was found in the 1980s and the trend (at least up to the most recent 2005 data) shows a slightly decreased pattern since then.
What are some of the larger social factors that have historically contributed to these patterns of divorce? You’ll notice a brief spike in divorce after World War II. The post-war year, 1946 was a true anomaly as far as rates measuring the family are concerned. It was the highest rate of marriages, highest rate of births (The Baby Boom began in 1946), and the lowest median age at marriage in US history. Divorce rates surged in 1946 as all the soldiers returned home having been changed by the traumas, isolation from their families, and challenges of the War. They were probably less compatible to the wife they left when they went to war. Divorces tend to follow wars for marrieds where one spouse is deployed into combat (WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq).
Other factors influencing this divorce pattern have to do with the economy, marriage market, and other factors. Divorces continue to be high during economic prosperity and often decline during economic hardships. Divorces tend to be higher if there is an abundance of single women in the society. And divorces tend to be more common in: urban rather than rural areas; the Western US than in the Eastern; among the poor, less educated, remarried, less religiously devout, and children of divorce. Please note that recession, war, secularism, and western US cultures don’t cause divorce. Scientists have never identified a “cause” for divorce. But, they have clearly identified risk factors.
Could there be larger social factors pressuring your marriage right now? Yes, but you are probably not enslaved to their forces. They still impact you and you can follow Mill’s ideas and manage as best you can within your power the consequences of these forces. What can you do about it? Well, if you are single, you’d best situate yourself in terms of marital success by waiting to marry until you are in your 20’s; finishing and graduating from college; taking careful attention to find the right person (especially one with common values to your own); and doing some sort of self-analysis to assess working proactively to nurture your marriage relationship on an ongoing basis, finding counseling to help mediate the influence of your parents' divorce on your current marital relationship. If you are married and things appear to hit a wall, consider counseling, consulting with other couples, and reading self-help books. Often the insurmountable walls that couples face in marriage slowly collapse with time and concerted effort.
Years ago, a colleague and I wrote a self-assessment to help students identify the personal divorce risks so that they can strategize what to do best under those risks. Take 10 minutes and learn what you can about your own divorce risks. (also take the time to watch another example of the Sociological Imagination in the case of W. E. B. Du Bois below)
One last note about the Sociological Imagination. One of my personal heroes is W.E.B. Du Bois. He was the first Black Harvard Graduate, the first to scientifically analyze US Blacks (See The Philadelphia Negro), and one of the most prolific Sociological writers ever. Watch my short lecture video on how the Sociological Imagination helps us to understand the personal lives of this hero and think about the tragedy that could have been had he grown up in the US Southern states instead of in Massachusetts.
Chapter 03 - Social theories
Making Sense of Abstract Theories
Sociological theories are the core and underlying strength of the discipline. They guide researchers in their studies. They also guide practitioners in their intervention strategies. And they will provide you with a basic understanding of how to see the larger social picture in your own personal life. A Theory is a set of interrelated concepts used to describe, explain, and predict how society and its parts are related to each other. The metaphor I've used for many years to illustrate the usefulness of a theory is what I call the "goggles metaphor." Goggles are a set of inter-related parts that help us see things more clearly. Goggles work because the best scientific components work together to magnify, enlarge, clarify, and expand to our view of the thing we are studying.
Theories are sets of inter-related concepts and ideas that have been scientifically tested and combined to magnify, enlarge, clarify, and expand our understanding of people, their behaviors, and their societies. Without theories, science would be a futile exercise in statistics. In the diagram below you can see the process by which a theory leads sociologist to perform a certain type of study with certain types of questions that can test the assumptions of the theory. Once the study is administered the findings and generalizations can be considered to see if they support the theory. If they do, similar studies will be performed to repeat and fine-tune the process. If the findings and generalizations do not support the theory, the sociologist rethinks and revisits the assumptions they made.
Here's a real-life scientific example. In the 1960's two researchers named Cumming and Henry studied the processes of aging. They devised a theory on aging that had assumptions built into it. These were simply put, that all elderly people realize the inevitability of death and begin to systematically disengage from their previous youthful roles while at the same time society prepares to disengage from them (see Maddox et al. 1987 The Encyclopedia of Aging, Springer Pub. NY for much more detail. Cumming and Henry tested their theory on a large number of elderly persons. Findings and generalization consistently yielded a "no" in terms of support for this theory. For all intents and purposes this theory was abandoned and is only used in references such as these (for a more scientifically supported theory on aging Google "Activity Theory and/or Continuity Theory"). Theories have to be supported by research and they also provide a framework for how specific research should be conducted.
By the way, theories can be used to study society-millions of people in a state, country, or even at the world level. When theories are used at this level they are referred to as Macro Theories, theories which best fit the study of massive numbers of people (typically Conflict and Functional theories). When theories are used to study small groups or individuals, say a couple, family, or team, they are referred to as being Micro Theories, theories which best fit the study of small groups and their members (typically Symbolic Interactionism or Social Exchange theories). In many cases, any of the four main theories can be applied at either the macro or micro levels.
There are really two distinct types of theories: first, Grand Theory, which is a theory which deals with the universal aspects of social processes or problems and is based on abstract ideas and concepts rather than on case specific evidence. These include Conflict, Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism, and Social Exchange Theories; second, Middle-Range Theory, which is a theory derived from specific scientific findings and focuses on the interrelation of two or more concepts applied to a very specific social process or problem. Robert K. Merton (1910-2003) was a functional theory-based sociologist who taught the value of using smaller more specifically precise theories in trying to explain smaller and more specific social phenomena. These theories include: Continuity, Activity, Differential Association, and labeling theories. (see American Sociology Association, Theory http://www.asatheory.org/ ).
Let's consider the four grand theories one at a time. The Conflict Theory is a macro theory. A Macro Theory is a sociological theory designed to study the larger social, global, and societal level of sociological phenomena. This theory was founded by a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, and revolutionary (1818-1883). Marx was a witness to oppression perpetrated by society's elite members against the masses of poor. He had very little patience for the capitalistic ideals that undergirded these powerful acts of inhumane exploitation of the average person. To him struggle was innate to all human societies. Later another German named Max Weber (1864-1920; pronounced "Veybur") further developed this sociological theory and refined it to a more moderate position. Weber studied capitalism further but argued against Marx's outright rejection of it.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theory is especially useful in understanding: war, wealth and poverty, the haves and the have nots, revolutions, political strife, exploitation, divorce, ghettos, discrimination and prejudice, domestic violence, rape, child abuse, slavery, and more conflict-related social phenomena. Conflict Theory claims that society is in a state of perpetual conflict and competition for limited resources. Marx and Weber, were they alive today, would likely use Conflict Theory to study the unprecedented bail outs by the US government which have proven to be a rich-to-rich wealth transfer.
Conflict Theory assumes that those who have perpetually try to increase their wealth at the expense and suffering of those who have not. It is a power struggle which is most often won by wealthy elite and lost by the common person of common means. Power is the ability to get what one wants even in the presence of opposition. Authority is the institutionalized legitimate power. By far the Bourgeoisie, or wealthy elite (royalty, political, and corporate leaders), have the most power. Bourgeoisie are the "Goliaths" in society who often bully their wishes into outcomes. The Proletariat are the common working class, lower class, and poor members of society. According to Marx (see diagram below) the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat cannot both have it their way and in order to offset the wealth and power of the Bourgeoisie the proletariat often rise up and revolt against their oppressors (The French, Bolshevik, United States, Mexican, and other revolutions are examples).
In fact Marx and Weber realized long ago that society does have different classes and a similar pattern of relatively few rich persons in comparison to the majority who are poor. The rich call the shots. Look below at the photographic montage of homes in one US neighborhood which were run down, poor, trashy, and worth very little. They were on the West side of this gully and frustrated many who lived on the East side who were forced to drive through these "slums" to reach their own mansions.
The Conflict Theory has been repeatedly tested against scientifically derived data and it repeatedly proves to have a wide application among many different levels of sociological study. That is not to say that all sociological phenomena are conflict-based. But, most Conflict theorists would argue that more often than not Conflict assumptions do apply. Feminist theory is a theoretical perspective that is couched primarily in Conflict Theory assumptions.
Functionalism or Structural Functionalism Theory
The next grand theory is called Functionalism or Structural Functionalism. The Functionalist Theory claims that society is in a state of balance and kept that way through the function of society's component parts. This theory has underpinnings in biological and ecological concepts (see diagram below). Society can be studied the same way the human body can be studied - by analyzing what specific systems are working or not working, diagnosing problems, and devising solutions to restore balance. Socialization, religious involvement, friendship, health care, economic recovery, peace, justice and injustice, population growth or decline, community, romantic relationships, marriage and divorce, and normal and abnormal family experiences are just a few of the evidences of functional processes in our society.
Sure, Functionalists would agree with Conflict Theorists that things break down in society and that unfair treatment of others is common. These break downs are called Dysfunctions, which are breakdowns or disruptions in society and its parts that threaten social stability. Enron's collapse, the ruination of 14,000 employees' retirement funds, the loss of millions in shareholder investments, and the serious doubt it left in the mind of US investors about the Stock Market's credibility and reliability which lasted for nearly a decade are examples of dysfunctions in the economic sector of the economy. But, Functionalists also look at two types of functions: manifest and latent functions. Manifest Functions are the apparent and intended functions of institutions in society. Latent Functions are the less apparent, unintended, and often unrecognized functions in social institutions and processes.
Back to Enron, the government's manifest function includes regulation of investment rules and laws in the Stock market to ensure credibility and reliability. After the Enron collapse, every company offering stocks for trade underwent a government supervised audit of its accounting processes in order to restore the public trust. For the most part balance was restored in the Stock Market (to a certain degree at least). There are still many imbalances in the investment, mortgage, and banking sectors which have to be readjusted; but, that's the point - society does readjust and eventually recover some degree of function.
Does the government also provide latent or accidental functions to society? Yes. Take for example the US military bases. Of all the currently open US military bases, all are economic boons for the local communities surrounding them. All provide jobs, taxes, tourism, retail, and government contract monies that would otherwise go somewhere else. When the discussion about closing military bases comes up in Washington DC, Senators and members of Congress go to work trying to keep their community's bases open.
As you can already tell, Functionalism is more positive and optimistic that Conflict Theory (the basis for much criticism by many Conflict Theorists). Functionalists realize that just like the body, societies get "sick" or dysfunction. By studying society's parts and processes, Functionalists can better understand how society remains stable or adjust to destabilizing forces when unwanted change is threatened. According to this theory most societies find that healthy balance and maintain it (unless they don't and collapse as many have in the history of the world. Equilibrium is the state of balance maintained by social processes that help society adjust and compensate for forces that might tilt it onto a path of destruction.
Getting back to the Conflict example of the gully separating extremely wealthy and poor neighborhoods, look at this Habitat for Humanity picture below. I took this close to my own home, because it represents what Functional Theorists claim happens - component parts of society respond to dysfunctions in ways that help to resolve problems. In this house the foundation was dug, poured, and dried within a week. From the foundation to this point was three working days. This house is now finished and lived in, thanks mostly to the Habitat non-profit process and the work of many volunteers. From the Functionalism perspective, optimism is appropriate and fits the empirical data gathered in society.
Symbolic Interactionism Theory
Interactionism comes in two theoretical forms: Symbolic Interaction and Social Exchange. By far, my favorite sociological theory is Symbolic Interactionism. Symbolic Interaction claims that society is composed of ever-present interactions among individuals who share symbols and their meanings. This is a very useful theory for: understanding other people; improving communications; learning and teaching skills in cross-cultural relations; and generally speaking, "not doing harm to your roommates" as many of my students often say after understanding this theory. Values, communication, witch hunting, crisis management, fear from crime, fads, love and all that comes with it, "evil and sin," what's hot and what's not, alien abduction beliefs, "who I am," litigation, mate selection, arbitration, dating joys and woes, and both personal and national meanings and definitions (September 1, 2001-WTC) can all be better understood using Symbolic Interactionism.
Once you realize that individuals are, by their social natures, very symbolic with one another, then you begin to understand how to persuade your friends and family, how to understand others' points of view, and how to resolve misunderstandings. This theory magnifies the concepts of meanings. Think about these three words, LOVE, LUST, and LARD. Each letter is a symbol. When combined in specific order, each word can be defined. Because we memorize words and their meanings we know that there is a striking difference between LOVE and LUST. We also know that LARD has nothing to do with either of these two terms. Contrast these word pairs: hate versus hope; help versus hurt; advise versus abuse; and connect versus corrupt. These words, like many others carry immense meaning and when juxtaposed sound like the beginning of philosophical ideas.
Symbolic Interactionism makes it possible for you to be a college student. It makes it so you understand your professors' expectations and know how to step up to them. Our daily interactions are filled with symbols and an ongoing process of interactions with other people based on the meanings of these symbols. "How's it going?" Ever had anyone you've greeted actually answer that question? Most of us never have. It's a greeting, not a question in the US culture (see culture chapter).
If you want to surprise someone, answer him or her next time they say "How's it going?" If they have a sense of humor, they might get a kick out of it. If not, you may have to explain yourself. Symbolic Interactionism Theory explores the way we communicate and helps us to understand how we grow up with our self-concept (see socialization chapter). It helps you to know what the expectations of your roles are and if you perceive yourself as doing a good job or not in meeting those expectations.
There are many other Symbolic Interactionism concepts out there to study, let's just talk about one more-The Thomas Theorem or Definition of the Situation. The Thomas Theorem is often called the "Definition of the situation" which is basically if people perceive or define something as being real then it is real in its consequences. I give a few examples from the media: a woman was diagnosed as HIV positive. She made her funeral plans, made sure her children would be cared for then prepared to die. Two-years later she was retested. It turned out her first test results were a false positive, yet she acted as though she had AIDS and was certainly going to die soon from it.
In a hypothetical case, a famous athlete (you pick the sport) defines himself as invincible and too famous to be held legally accountable for his criminal behavior. He is subsequently found guilty. A politician (you pick the party and level of governance) believes that his/her constituents will tolerate anything. When he/she doesn't get reelected no one is surprised. The point is that when we define our situation as being real, we act as though it is real (regardless of the objective facts in the matter).
Symbolic Interactionism is very powerful in helping people to understand each other. Newlyweds, roommates, life-long friends, young adult children and their parents, and teammates can all utilize the principles to "walk a mile in the other's shoes;" "see the world through their glasses;" and/or simply "get it." One of the major realization that comes with Symbolic Interactionism is that you begin to understand the other people in your life and come to know that they are neither right nor wrong, just of a different point of view. They just define social symbols with varying meanings.
To understand the other person's symbols and meanings, is to approach common ground. Listen to this statement by Rosa Parks (1913-2005), "All I was doing was trying to get home from work." In 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a White person, it proved to be a spark for the Civil Rights Movement that involved the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. and many other notable leaders. It was Rosa Parks' simple and honest statement that made her act of defiance so meaningful. The lion share of the nation was collectively tired and sick of the mistreatment of Blacks. Many Whites joined the protests while others quietly sympathized. After all that was written in the history books about it, a simple yet symbolic gesture by Rosa Parks symbolically started the healing process for the United States.
Social Exchange Theory
The remaining theory and second interactionist theory is Social Exchange. Social Exchange claims that society is composed of ever present interactions among individuals who attempt to maximize rewards while minimizing costs. Assumptions in this theory are similar to Conflict theory assumptions yet have their interactistic underpinnings. Basically, human beings are rational creatures, capable of making sound choices once the pros and cons of the choice are understood. This theory uses a formula to measure the choice making processes.
(REWARDS-COSTS)=OUTCOMES
or
("What I get out of it"-"What I lose by doing it")="My decision"
We look at the options available to us and weigh as best we can how to maximize our rewards and minimize our losses. Sometimes we get it right and other times we make a bad choice. One of the powerful aspects of this theory is the concept of Equity. Equity is a sense that the interactions are fair to us and fair to others involved by the consequences of our choices. For example, why is it that women who work 40 hours a week and have husbands who work 40 hours per week do not perform the same number of weekly hours of housework and childcare? Scientists have surveyed many couples to find the answer. Most often, it boils down to a sense of fairness or equity. Because she defines it as her role to do housework and childcare, while he doesn't; because they tend to fight when she does try to get him to perform housework, and because she may think he's incompetent, they live with an inequitable arrangement as though it were equitable (don't get me started on the evidence that supports men sharing the actual roles of housekeepers and childcare providers-see Joseph Pleck, "Working Wives/ Working Husbands" Sage Pub, CA).
Each of us tries constantly to weigh pros and cons and to maximize the outcomes of our choices. I often provide a rhetorical challenge to my students when I ask them to go down to the cafeteria, pick the least attractive person they can find, take them on a date where they drive and they pay for everything, then give the person a 7 second kiss at the end of the date. "Why would we do that?" they typically ask. "That's my point," I typically reply, having increased a bit of their understanding of the Social Exchange Theory.
Any of the four theories can be used to study any individual and collective behaviors. But, some do work better than others because their assumptions more precisely match the issue of interest. Divorce might be studied from the Conflict Theory to understand how things become adversarial and how and why contested divorces sometimes become violent. Divorce might be studied from the Functionalism Theory to understand how divorce is a means to resolving untenable social circumstance-it is a gesture designed to restore balance and equilibrium. Divorce might be studied using the Symbolic Interactionism Theory to identify how people define their roles before, during, and after the divorce and how they reestablish new roles as unmarried adults. Divorce might also be studied using the Social Exchange Theory to understand the processes and choices that lead to the final divorce decision, distribution of assets, child custody decrees and the final legal change of status (see Levinger and Moles, "Divorce and Separation: Context, Causes, and Consequences" 1979, Basic Books).
I've enclosed a simple summary sheet of the four basic theories used most by sociologists. It serves well as a reference guide, but can't really replace your efforts to study sociological theories in more detail. On the next page I've enclosed a self-assessment that may help you to assess your leanings towards these four main theories and two others that are often used by sociologists. On the self-assessment don't be surprised if you find that all four theories fit your world-view. Keep in mind they have been extensively studied for a very long time.
Chapter 04 - Scientific Sociology
One of the most remarkable traits that August Comte mandated for Sociology was a core of scientific rigor. He proposed the concept of Positivism is the scientifically-based sociological research that uses scientific tools such as survey, sampling, objective measurement, and cultural and historical analysis to study and understand society. Although the current definition of positivism expands far beyond Comte's original vision, Sociological scientific methodology is used through government and industry researchers and across higher education and the private sector. Comte was originally interested in why societies remain the same (social statics) and why societies change (social dynamics). Most sociological research today falls within these broad categories. Sociologists strive for Objectivity is the ability to study and observe without distortion or bias, especially personal bias. Bias-free research is an ideal that, if not present, will open the door to extreme misinterpretation of research findings.
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