What is Sociology?

May 23, 2009

by Russ Long

PART 1: The Basics

I. What Is Sociology?
The American Sociological Association (2006) describes “sociology as the study of social life, social
change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. The ASA contends that
“sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact
within these contexts.” Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior. This means,
when sociologists apply their trade, they use a rigorous methodology.
The influence of society is the central question asked by sociologists when they attempt to explain
human behavior. People are social beings more than they are individuals. Our thinking and
motivation are largely shaped by our life experiences as we interact with one another. According to
Barkan (1997:4), "society profoundly shapes their behavior and attitudes." We exist within social
structure, which refers to patterns of social interaction and social relationships. Social structure, in
turn, has great influence on who we are as individuals. It influences our behavior, our attitudes, and
our life chances. Social structure is complex and often contradictory.
A. Topics of Study
Subject areas in Sociology are as varied as society itself.
• Sociologists can study very small social relationships involving only a few people (such
as the family). They can also explore relationships in much larger social collectivities
such as organizations and institutions.
• Sociology may be concerned with issues revolving around social class, poverty, gender,
race and ethnicity, or religion as well as social mobility and education. Other topics may
include culture, socialization, conflict, power, and deviance.
• Very large social relationships such as those between nation states are also the domain
of sociology as are the characteristics of the economy and political system. In fact, the
whole topic of globalization is relevant to sociologists.
B. The Relationship between People and Structure
Within the vast field of sociology, the common denominator is people. Sociology explores the “forces
that influence people and help shape their lives … Society shapes what we do, how we do it, and how
we understand what others do“ (Univ. of Limerick 2007). Options in life are determined in the past
and are molded by currently existing structures that provide well-established guidelines for how
individuals conduct their lives. To quote Macionis and Plummer, “In the game of life, we may decide
how to play our cards, but it is society that deals us the hand” (Univ. of Limerick 2007).
C. Critical Thinking
Sociology requires one to look at the world critically. Peter Berger argues that students of sociology
should acquire a healthy skepticism regarding overly simplified (or commonly accepted) conceptions
of human affairs. Critical thinking is a willingness to ask any question, no matter how difficult; to be
open to any answer that is supported by reason and evidence; and to confront one’s own biases and
prejudices openly when they get in the way (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:5).
Given that Sociology explores problems of pressing interest; its topics are often objects of major
controversy and conflict in society itself (see Giddens, 1987:2). Rarely do sociologists "preach" revolt,
but they do call attention to the fundamental social questions of our day. Sociology helps bring
contentious issues into sharper focus. In doing so, however, feelings may get hurt and individuals
may become insulted. I will probably step on everyone's toes at least once. In advance, I
apologize. It's important in a class like this one that we agree to disagree. I hope that we can be as
polite as possible. The general point of this class is to understand that alternate points of view exist.
It is not designed to support one view over another.
Stepping on toes, after all, is nothing new for sociology. Sometimes sociologists step on toes on high
ranking officials to the point where national governments advocate a policy of limiting the number of
sociologists.
D. Multiple Perspectives
“Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating new ideas and critiquing
the old” (ASA 2006). Sociology, as a matter of course, utilizes multiple perspectives when critiquing
social phenomena. It, likewise, employs a wide range of methodological techniques to answer
questions that have social relevance.
We should come to realize that there are a variety of points of view on any given subject. These
points of view are perspectives. Perspectives are limited. Social facts, therefore, are understood in
the context of many perspectives which are often complex and contradictory. Sociology is a method
of organizing your thoughts about society and your place in society.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane
by those who could not hear the music"
-- A. Monet
II. Debunking and Being Skeptical
A. Debunking
According to Berger, it's the job of sociology to debunk commonly accepted notions about society.
Debunking is a process of questioning actions and ideas that are usually taken for granted. It refers
to looking behind the facade of everyday life. It refers to looking at the behind-the-scenes patterns
and processes that shape the behavior observed in the social world (Andersen & Taylor, 2001:6).
B. Being Skeptical
Barkan (1997:5) contends that sociology, given the emphasis on the structural basis for individual
behavior, often challenges conventional wisdom. He cites Max Weber in arguing that one of
sociology's most important goals is to uncover what Weber called "inconvenient facts." Peter Berger
(in Barkan, 1997:6) contends "sociology refuses to accept official interpretations of society." Often
official interpretations are filled with propaganda. According to Berger, it's the job of sociology to
debunk this motif. With this in mind, students of sociology should acquire a healthy skepticism
regarding overly simplified (or commonly accepted) conceptions of human affairs. It is tempting to
look for simple answers or what Ross Perot (1992) calls "sound bites" to explain complex social
phenomena.
Example: Hitler blamed Germany's post-World War One problems on the Jews.
Example: Few realize the benefits associated with undocumented immigration.
Example: Are drugs bad? Many don't consider that the United States exports dangerous drugs (e.g.,
tobacco).
III. The Myth of Objectivity
Many often claim to strive for objectivity. Objectivity is sought both in the subject under study and as a
strategy for teaching students. At some level, however, the concept of objectivity is a myth. What
appears objective may simply be a political event. The positions defined and accepted as objective
may, in fact, represent the positions of people, organizations, or governments who happen to hold
power.
While objectivity in the strictest sense is a myth, it is at least possible, and desirable, to strive for a
common understanding. Often, social concepts and even vocabulary is vague. For example, many
may state a desire to reduce levels of inequality in the U.S. What, exactly, does 'reducing inequality'
mean? Do we mean 'equal opportunity' as inferred by affirmative action? Do we mean reducing the
income-gap or wealth-gap between the wealthiest and poorest in our society? Or, do we mean
'radical leveling' as practiced by the Khmer Rouge in the Killing Fields of Cambodia? How can we
recognize whether we have achieved our goal? Arguably, Cambodia had greater 'equality' between
citizens in 1978 than the United States now has. I doubt, however, that many would consider their
means or ends desirable.
A. What is an Operational Definition?
In order to explore important social issues a common ground and a common language is necessary.
An operational definition is a precise way used to measure variables (Henslin 2008:20-21).
For example: Regarding inequality, we might devise a poverty threshold. Poverty rates are
something most people understand. Poverty rates are by no means perfect, but at least when we talk
about a 'poverty rate' we all tend to understand what we mean when we discuss poverty.
B. Should Sociologists be Value-Free or Activists?
How much should a sociologist get involved in the subject under investigation? Some, like Max
Weber, argue that, in order to truly understand a social phenomenon, the researcher should be value-
free or neutral. Personal values should have no influence on research. The proponents of this view
argue that once a researcher becomes personally involved he or she loses their perspective. They
become biased. Those biases influence their study of society.
Others would argue that it is useless to study something like social problems unless one intends to fix
those problems. The point, according to Marx, is to change things. The goals of the sociologist
should be to empower people so that they can change their lives.
Which point of view is correct? Currently, this issued remains unresolved.
C. The Debate between C. Wright Mills and Talcott Parsons.
Henslin (2004:1) offers a synopsis of this debate.
Essentially, Parsons was an abstract theoretician who created abstract models on how society
functioned as a harmonious unit. He might argue that sociologists should focus on analyzing some
aspect of society and then publish those findings in journals. Parsons did nothing for social activism.
Mills, on the other hand, sought to direct the efforts of sociologists back toward social reform and
activism. The goal of people like C. Wright Mills would be to transform society according to some
ideological prerequisite. Mills provided some of the theoretical foundations for the 1960s student
rebellion.
D. Social Darwinism
Henslin (2004:4-5) describes Social Darwinism as distinctly non-reformist. Spencer, the father of
Social Darwinism, argued that societies evolve from lower to higher forms. As generations pass, the
most capable survives while the least fit dies out.
Spencer argued that if one helps the lower classes, it interferes with the natural process. Programs
designed to help the poor will ultimately weaken the social order, according to Social Darwinism. He
argued that society would advance if "do-gooders’ did not help the unfit survive.
IV. A Sociological Imagination:
Personal Troubles and Public Issues
The sociological imagination refers to the ability to grasp the relationship between our lives as
individuals and the large social forces that help shape them. Human behavior must be understood in
a broader social context. Americans have a long cultural-heritage which encourages self-reliance
and independence. Perhaps as a result of our culture we tend resort to "blaming the victim" to explain
problems such as unemployment and inequality. Despite our "heritage of self-reliance" Americans are
also bound by social structure and history. Daily common sense might suggest that one who is poor
should consider getting a job. It might also argue in favor of "pulling one's self up by their bootstraps."
Perhaps, as is often the case, the solutions to problems experienced by individuals do not have
simple solutions. According to Marx (1978:595):
Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under
circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted
from the past.
To paraphrase C. Wright Mills (1959):
People do not usually define their personal problems in terms of historical change and institutional
contradictions. People do not usually think of the connection between the patterns of their own lives
and the course of world history. People live out biographies in the context of world events that are in
turn determined by historically specified conditions. Both the lives of individuals and the course of
world history are understood simultaneously.
One of the challenges of sociology is to break away from the idea that western modes of life are
somehow superior and therefore sets standards for those cultures found elsewhere. "Such a belief is
encouraged by the very spread of western capitalism itself, which has set in motion a train of events
that has corroded or destroyed most other cultures with which it has come into contact" (Giddens,
1987:19).
If social evolution is seen as the capacity of a culture to master its environment, then western style
capitalism seems to have done this. Undeniably, it has "unleashed material productivity vastly greater
than that of any other societies which have preceded it in history" (Giddens, 1987:19).
Evolutionary schemes, however, express an ethnocentrism that takes the position that one's own
culture is somehow to be used as a measure to judge other societies. The "conviction of superiority
has been in some part an expression, and a justification, of the greedy engulfing other modes of life
by industrial capitalism" (Giddens, 1987:19-20).

A. What is meant by the term diversity

and why is diversity desirable?
Diversity refers to the social relations and interaction of many different kinds of
people (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:6).
Why is diversity desirable and important for a society?
• Diversity enriches an individual's experiences as well as the society.
• Diversity helps us to be more accepting of other people.
• Diversity provides greater perspectives in problem solving.

V. Why Study Sociology?

A. Careers in Sociology
1. Within Academia
Most employment specifically in sociology occurs in the context of academia. Colleges and
universities often hire sociologists where they teach or engage in social research.
2. Outside Academia - Applied Sociology
Henslin (2006:8) contends that applied sociology lies between the two positions articulated by C.
Wright Mills and Talcott Parsons. Applied sociology is one area when sociologists might find
employment outside academia. These efforts do not fall in the realm of social reform. Applied
sociology does not, for example, advocate rebuilding society. Rather, it tackles specific problems.
Example: An applied sociologist might be employed at a computer company developing user-
centered software.
Outside the university, applied sociologists use sociology to solve specific social problems. Applied
sociologists may focus on problems in the work place or “virtually any aspect of social life such as
street crime and delinquency, corporate downsizing, how people express emotions, social welfare,
education reform, how families differ and flourish, or problems of peace and war” (ASA 2006). Many
sociologists find employment in governmental agencies, such as the Census Bureau, that are
concerned with the distribution of people.
B. Beyond Sociology: Benefits of Studying Sociology
 There are numerous reasons why one might want to study sociology even if they do not work
in sociology directly. World Wide Learn (2007) points out that a background in sociology:
· assists one in recognizing trends and patterns in society.
· allows the development of critical thinking skills.
· encourages good research skills in data collection
· instructs in creating concise reports and essays.
· develops planning and organizational skills.
· augments oral presentation skills and interpersonal communications.
· enhances management skills and grant writing ability.
Sociology is useful in “social and marketing research, sport development, psychology, law, human
resources management, information science, journalism, and corporate communications, geography
and environmental management, and development studies” (University of Johannesburg 2007).

Bibliography
American Sociological Association (ASA)
2006 "What is Sociology?" http://www.asanet.org/cs/root/topnav/sociologists/what_is_sociology
Andersen, Margaret L. and Howard F. Taylor
2001 Sociology: The Essentials. Wadsworth Publishing.
Barkan, Steven E.
1997, Criminology: A Sociological Understanding. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Giddens, Anthony
1987 Sociology: A Brief but Critical Introduction. (2nd ed.) San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
Henslin, James E.
2004 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach. (5th Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2006 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach. (6th Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Marx, Karl
1978 "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte." Pp. 594-617 in Robert Tucker, The Marx-Engels
Reader, New York: W. W. Norton.
Mills, C. Wright
1959 The Sociological Imagination. London: Oxford University Press.
University of Johannesburg
2007 "What is Sociology," University of Johannesburg,
http://general.rau.ac.za/sociology/what_is_sociology.htm
University of Limerick
2007 "What is Sociology?" Sociology at Limerick, http://www.ul.ie/sociology/whatis.html
September 28, 2007
World Wide Learn
2007 "The World's Premier Online Directory of Education," World Wide Learn
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-education-guide/social-science/sociology-major.htm
November 8, 2007
"What I have been trying to say to intellectuals, preachers, scientists -- as well as
more generally to publics -- can be put into one sentence: Drop the liberal rhetoric
and the conservative default; they are now parts of one and the same official line;
transcend that line" (C Wright Mills, The Causes of World War Three, 1958:183).

I. What is a Theoretical Perspective?

Perspectives might best be viewed as models.
• Each perspective makes assumptions about society.
• Each one attempts to integrate various kinds of information about society.
• Models give meaning to what we see and experience.
 •Each perspective focuses on different aspects of society.
•Certain consequences result from using a particular model.
No one perspective is best in all circumstances. The perspective one uses may depend upon the
question being asked. If one is exploring bureaucratic organization, then one might like to use a
perspective that is concerned with social order. On the other hand, if one is concerned with social
inequality, then perhaps the conflict perspective is more useful.
Perhaps the best perspective is one which combines many perspectives.
II. The Functionalist Perspective
• The origins of the functionalist perspective can be traced to the work of Herbert Spencer and
Emile Durkheim.
• The problem of maintaining social order is a central problem for understanding society.
• Understanding society from a functionalist perspective is to visualize society as a system of
interrelated parts. All the parts act together even though each part may be doing different
things.
• Institutions, such as family, education, and religion are the parts of the social system and they
act to bring about order in society.
• Integration of the various parts is important. When all the "parts" of the system work together,
balance is maintained and the over all order of the system is achieved.
• Social structures in society promote integration, stability, consensus, and balance.
A. A System With Parts
The parts of society, while performing different functions, work together to maintain the stability of the
whole social system.
In order to understand the idea of "social system," it may be helpful to visualize a different kind of
system. For example, biological organisms are systems. In fact, many sociologists use biological
models to explain human society. The biological metaphor is successful in that it calls attention to
how a social "organism" consists of various unique parts. Those parts, in turn, function together to
support and maintain the whole system.
B. What's the Purpose?
Functionalists, like Emile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton, are
interested in how the parts of the social system contribute to the continuation of the social system.
When functionalists encounter the various aspects of society, they may ask "What is its purpose?" A
primary purpose of all parts (institutions like police, newspapers, religion) is to encourage consensus.
Merton (see Robertson, 1989:12) distinguishes between manifest functions, latent functions, and
dysfunctions.
1. Manifest Functions
Manifest functions refer to functions that are obvious.
Examples:
The manifest function of schools is to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The manifest function of the military is to defend the nation.
The manifest function of criminal justice is to keep the streets safe for a society's citizens.
2. Latent Functions
Latent functions are functions that are unrecognized. They may even be important functions, but their
consequence is not obvious.
Example:
• College students, in the course of pursuing their education, may make good
friends.
• Merton described college as a "mate selection market" where students meet
prospective marriage partners.
3. Dysfunctions
A perspective that is highly concerned about order is by definition concerned about what happens
when social order breaks down. Merton uses the term dysfunction, which refers to a negative
consequence that may disrupt the system. Dysfunction also conjures up the notion that a social
phenomenon can be functional in one setting and dysfunctional in another.
Examples:
Over Population
Pollution
C. Critique of Functionalism
1. Functionalism Resists Change
Invoking a biological model has certain built-in assumptions connected to it. Biological organisms do
not perform very well when they encounter great change in their environment. Society, however, is
not biological. It is social. Social systems can tolerate much greater change than can biological
systems.
2. Functionalism is Inherently Conservative
Change tends to be viewed as a negative consequence. All the parts of society act as a part of a
unified system. Altering one part of the system has impact on all the other parts. There fore, there is
a tendency is to protect existing institutions out of a fear that change in one area of society will
adversely influence other parts of society. Fear of creating disorder in society is often used as a
justification for avoiding change.
III. The Conflict Perspective
Conflict theorists see society less as a cohesive system and more as an arena of conflict and power
struggles. Instead of people working together to further the goals of the "social system,"
• People are seen achieving their will at the expense of others.
• People compete against each other for scarce resources.
• Basic inequalities between various groups is a constant theme of conflict theory.
• Power, or the lack of it, is also a basic theme of conflict theory.
• Since some people benefit at the expense of others, those who benefit use ideology to justify
their unequal advantage in social relationships.
Marx is a conflict theorist. He argued that the struggle between social classes was the major cause
of change in society. Much change, in fact, happens as rich people and poor people compete over
scarce resources.
Not all conflict theorists are Marxist. Weber is also a conflict theorist. Where as Marx focused on class
conflict as the "engine" of historic change, others see conflict among groups and individuals as a fact
of life in any society. Conflict can occur over many other aspects of society unrelated to class. For
example, conflict can occur over water rights (in West Texas and New Mexico). Conflict occurs when
two people have a car accident. Conflict occurs between men and women.
A. Conflict and Change
As a result of tension, hostility, competition, and disagreements over goals and values, change is one
of the basic features in society. In general, change occurs because of inequality and the battle over
scarce resources. Conflict occurs because people want things (power, wealth, and prestige) that are
in short supply. One should realize that conflict is not intrinsically bad. Conflict provides grounds
where people unite in order that they may act on their common interests. Conflict is the motor for
desirable change.
B. Who Benefits?
Like the functionalists, conflict theorists recognize the existence of social structures, but instead of
structures existing for the good of the whole system, social structures (institutions) serve the interests
of the powerful. One should also recognize the flip side of this coin. Structures that serve the powerful
also are designed to keep other groups in society in their place for the privilege of others.
Instead of following the functionalist path of addressing dysfunction (i.e. something that doesn't work)
conflict theorists would ask "Who Benefits?"
Example: Acid rain
Acid rain is not "bad" for everyone. The powerful people who control polluting industries stand to
make huge profits by not providing proper air purification.
C. Ideology
Cooperation is not assumed.
• The idea of society being an integrated system based on consensus is a manufactured
idea.
• The powerful influence or coerce the rest of the population into compliance and
conformity.
• Social order is maintained, not by popular agreement, but rather by the direct or indirect
exercise of power."
IV. The Interactionist Perspective
The Interactionist perspective takes the position that it is people who exist and act. All the other
"structures" found in society are nothing but human creations. For the Interactionists, society is
always in a process of being created, and this occurs through communication and negotiation.
• Symbolic Interactionists are called micro-sociologists.
• The scope of investigation for these sociologists is very small. Interactionists prefer to explore
the interaction of individuals or groups of individuals.
• Interaction is generally face-to-face and addresses "everyday" activities. Society occurs as a
result of interaction between individuals and small groups of individuals over long periods of
time.
• They are interested in the way individuals act toward, respond to, and influence one another in
society.
• People negotiate meaning in their lives. Each communication produces new perspectives,
expectations, and boundaries that individuals use to assure continual interactions in the future.
• Micro-sociologists are not interested in institutions (e.g., the economy and government), social
class, and nation-states.
A. Change
• Society is dynamic.
• Change occurs as a result of interaction between individuals.
• Continuous change, not stable patterns, characterizes the real nature of society. This
kind of change is much less deterministic than change associated with the conflict
perspective. Marxists look for change that is determined by characteristics in the social
structure. Change from the Interactionist perspective is free-form.
B. Reference Groups
Much interaction takes place in "reference groups."
• Reference groups include professional organizations, friendship groups, doctors and
medical people, education, and the community in which we live.
• Some are more stable than others, but change is a common feature in all reference
groups.
• Change occurs as people communicate with one another.
C. Symbolic Interaction
Symbolic interaction is a major sub-category of the Interactionist perspective. Robertson (1989:15)
argues that "the interaction that takes place between people occurs through symbols." He calls a
symbol "anything that can meaningfully represent something else."
D. Shared Meaning
As individuals and small groups first negotiate patterns of social interaction, and then come to reply
on those patterns, expectations become more fixed in social structure. Eventually, people come to
accept those patterns as part of their reality. Often they cannot see beyond that reality. Choices are
made within that reality. Once people that accept certain aspects in society are "real," real
consequences flow from that realty. The "witches" at Salem discovered this the hard way.

"If people define situations as real,

 then they are real in their consequences."
The W. I. Thomas Theorem

 
Social research is a process for producing new knowledge about the social world in a structured,
organized, and systematic way (Neuman, 1994:2). 
I. Why Is Sociology a Science?
Why is social science (sociology) science? Is sociology simply a pseudo-science? After all, its ability
to predict the future is questionable! Isn't it? What is science? In mathematics, 2 + 2 always = 4.
Sociology often cannot make precise predictions.
In response, one might argue that just because the subject matter of sociology is more difficult to
study than the subjects pursued in other sciences, it does not mean that the scientific method is
inappropriate for the social sciences. The subject matter of sociology experiences continuous change.
This fact alone renders efforts at prediction difficult. Problems relating to prediction can be found in
the biological science as well. One should note the problems encountered as biologists try to track
the AIDS virus. It too continually mutates.
Sociology is a science every bit as much as biology or chemistry. Social sciences, like natural and
biological sciences, use a vigorous methodology. This means that a social scientist clearly states the
problems he or she is interested in and clearly spells out how he or she arrives at their conclusions.
Generally, social scientists ground the procedure in a body of existing literature. This is precisely how
other sciences function.
II. Alternatives to Science
The scientific method of understanding society is relatively new in the grand course of human history.
It arose during the Enlightenment period in Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Before exploring scientific sociology, let's begin with a brief discussion of other sources of social
knowledge about society. I do this for two reasons:
In order to understand where we are, it is sometimes helpful to understand where we have come from
and where we are going (with the lectures to follow). That is why we study history!
Further, a good way to determine the worth (or lack of worth) of anything social is within a
comparative context that offers alternatives.
A. Authority
Often, we get our knowledge from significant others like parents, teachers, books, or political leaders.
When one accepts something as true because someone in authority says it is true, then they are
relying on authority. It is a quick, simple, and inexpensive way to gain information (Neuman, 1994:2-
3).
The problem associated with relying on authorities is that overestimating the expertise of someone or
some publication is possible. An expert in one area might ...
1. try to use his or her expertise in an area where the authority has little if any knowledge. Neuman
(1994:3) reminds us that "experts" used to measure intelligence by counting the number of bumps on
the skull. 
2. An over reliance on authority may also produce problems in a democratic society. Allowing authorities
to wield too much authority can be dangerous! Over reliance on authority might lead to dictatorship.  
B. Tradition
Neuman (1994:3) contends that tradition is a special case of authority, the authority of the past. "It
has always been done that way." One problem with relying on tradition as a source of information is
that conditions change. People can cling to past traditions without understanding why something was
true in the past (e.g., A shot of whiskey cures a cold). Tradition can also be based on simple
prejudices that people pass down from one generation to the next. Even if traditional knowledge was
once true, it can become distorted over time. (E.g., The best way to plow a field is with a mule-drawn
plow, or one should always plant by the full moon.)
C. Common Sense
Common sense is the knowledge people gain about the world through their everyday experience. It
works sometimes. In fact, sociology might require that one use a little common sense when engaging
in research projects. On the other hand, one still has to remember that common sense is not truth in
any objective sense. It is only a shared social idea that people find comfortable and safe.

Example: Simple Dichotomies

The seemingly persistent tendency for human beings to think in terms of simple
dichotomies to understand society perplexed Fernando Henrique Cardoso. To emphasize
the simplicity of such thinking he used the metaphor of two space travelers encountering
earth for the first time. The space travelers express shock at the simplicity of the earthlings.
They might say, "the brain of these beings appears to limit their images and thoughts to
binary opposites" (Cardoso, 1977).
Example: Who is Rich, Who is Poor?
Asian-Americans have the highest per capita median income in the United States while
Native-Americas have to lowest. This contradicts the usually accepted notion that Blacks
and Whites define the top and bottom of American society.

1. Problems with Common Sense

a. Our Experience is Limited
We cannot possibly know everything everywhere.
b. Our Interpretation of Experience is Biased
Our minds play tricks on us. We are likely to see what we want to see. We are likely to look for easy
explanations and we are likely to accept ideas of people that are attractive to us. Sociologists have
dubbed this tendency the "halo effect."

Example: What is Suicide?

When is a death suicide? If someone attempts to fake a suicide but actually
succeeds in killing themselves, is their death suicide or accidental death?
Example: Suicide in Religious Communities
Some religious communities show a low suicide rate. Does this mean that
people in these communities kill themselves at a lower rate? In some
religions suicide is a mortal sin. Perhaps religious communities attempt to
cover up suicides more than non religious communities. One explanation
might be that suicide in religious communities would have more serious
social impact on the survivors than it would in non religious communities.
Example: The Problem of "Illegal Aliens"
Common sense tells us that undocumented workers take jobs from
Americans and that, in general, they create a burden for the U.S.
taxpayers. Facts, however, show us that undocumented workers add more
to the United States economy than they cost. Further, they tend to take jobs
that most Americans don't want.
Example: Buy American! What Does This Mean?
As Americans struggled with the global economy in the 1980s, many
advocated buying American products from American companies. Common
sense told us that buying American would put Americans to work and make
the U.S. economy stronger. Unfortunately, distinguishing between global
and domestic economy became highly problematic in the 1990s as the
domestic and international economies became more interconnected (See
 Keohane and Nye, 1977; Reich, 1991).
General Motors is an American company, but look at the international
involvement the creation of a General Motors product like the LeMans (from
Reich, 1991).
Of the $20,000 paid to GM, about $6,000 goes to South Korea for routine
labor and assembly operations, $3,500 to Japan for advanced components
(engines, transaxles, and electronics), $1,500 to West Germany for styling
and design engineering, $800 to Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan for small
components, $500 to Britain for advertising and marketing services, and
about $100 to Ireland and Barbados for data processing. The rest -- less
than $8000 -- goes to strategists in Detroit, lawyers and bankers in New
York, lobbyists in Washington, insurance and health care workers all over
the country, and General Motors shareholders -- most of who live in the
United States, but many who are foreign nationals (Reich, 1991:113).

D. Media Myths
This one is obvious. Have you ever heard Arnold Schwarzenegger say "Hasta la vista baby" for
George Bush? The TV is notorious for distorting reality about crime, romance, etc. The news also can
distort truth whether intentionally or otherwise (to meet deadlines, etc.) (Neuman, 1994:4).
III. The Scientific Method
The scientific method is a systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and
consistency in researching a problem (Schaefer and Lamm, 1992:35). The following are some
components of the scientific method.
A. Test Ideas
Don't take assumptions for granted. Don't rely on common sense. Don't rely on traditional authority
figures.
B. Evidence must Be Observable
Evidence should be observable because other Sociologists might want to perform the same study in
order to verify or refute findings.
1. Social Facts
Henslin (1999:16) notes that Durkheim stressed social facts. He calls them "patterns of behavior that
characterize a social group." Appelbaum & Chambliss (1997:12) defines social facts as "qualities of
groups that are external to individual members yet constrain their thinking and behavior." For
example, one may display a particular behavior when with friends, but feel constrained to act
differently when in a more formal setting. The effect of a social group on individual behavior is a social
fact.
C. Describe How Evidence is Gathered
Any study of society should specify the methods the researcher used to obtain his or her information,
the setting (where the researcher conducted the study), and the population (whom they studied). This
is done so that other social scientists may test your findings. Social scientists are cautious in
accepting the findings of other. Studies are often replicated to verify findings of initial studies.
D. Theory
A theory is a set of ideas [generalizations] supported by facts. Theories try to make sense out of
those facts. Social scientists seldom accept theories as laws. Often they are not considered totally
true. Furthermore, the subjects they attempt to explain (i.e., people and social institutions) are
variable. Gergen (1982:12) in D'Andrade (p 27) states:
"It may be ventured that with all its attempts to emulate natural science inquiry, the past century of
sociobehavioral research and theory has failed to yield a principle as reliable as Archimedes principle
of hydrostatics or Galileo's Law of uniformly accelerated motion."
E. Hypothesis
Because theories are general ideas, social scientists do not test them directly. A hypothesis is a
speculative (or tentative) statement that predicts the relationship between two or more variables. It is,
in essence, an educated guess. It specifies what the researcher expects to find. To be considered
meaningful, a hypothesis must be testable; that is, capable of being evaluated (Schaefer & Lamm,
1992: 38).
IV. Basic Statistical Concepts
A. Measures of Central Tendency: Mean, Median, and Mode
1. Mean
The mean, or average, is a number calculated by adding a series of values and then dividing by the
number of values. For example, to find the mean of the numbers 5, 19, and 27, we add them and
divide by the number of values (3). The mean would then be 17 (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 36).
2. Mode
The mode is the single most common value in a series of scores. For example, if we were looking at
the following scores on a ten-point quiz: 10, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 6, 5, we would determine the mode
by observing which score occurred most frequently. Now, the mode would be 7 (Schaefer & Lamm,
1992: 36).
3. Median
The median is the midpoint or number that divides a series of values (which are ranked in ascending
or descending order). For the quiz discussed above, the median is 8 (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 36).
B. Rates & Percentages
A percentage is a portion based on 100. Use of percentages allows one to compare groups of
different sizes.

Example: Comparing Populations of Different Sizes

If we are comparing contributors to a town's Baptist and Roman Catholic churches,
the absolute numbers of contributors could be misleading if there were many more
Baptists than Catholics living in the town. With percentages, we can obtain a more
meaningful comparison, showing the proportion of persons in each group who
contribute to their respective churches (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 36).

C. Statistical Control vs. Control Groups

In a sociological sense, control means that you neutralize all social characteristics (variables) except
that which is under consideration. This is different from a control group. A control group is something
associated with an experiment. If one is testing, say a new drug, one would get two similar
populations. The new drug would be given to one group (an experimental group) and withheld from
the other group (a control group). Any difference between the experimental group and the control
group is probably due to the intervention (e.g., the new drug in this example).
D. Target Populations and Samples
The target population refers to everyone in a group that is studies. For example, if one wants to
know how people will vote in an election, the target population is everyone who is eligible to vote.
How can a researcher study a population as large as that of the United States? The answer is that
one cannot study entire populations. Large populations are simply too big. The researcher, therefore,
needs to look at a small subset of the population. We call this subset a sample. The trick is to make
sure that your sample closely parallels the characteristics of the larger population.
1. Random Sample
Henslin (1999:126) contends that a random sample is one in which everyone in a population has the
same chance of being included in a study. A random sample is necessary if one is going to attempt to
generalize the findings in a study to the larger population.
E. Variables
A hypothesis poses a relationship between two or more aspects of social relationships. These
aspects are called variables. A variable is a measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to
change under different conditions. Income, gender, occupation, and religion are variables. Variables
may be independent or dependent.
1. Independent Variables
Independent variables in a hypothesis are those that influence or cause changes in another variable.
In other words, an independent variable is something that is chosen by the researcher to cause a
change in another variable.
2. Dependent Variables
The dependent variables are those variables are believed to be influenced by the independent
variable (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992:38).

Example: Independent and Dependent Variables

Higher levels of education produce greater earnings. Education is the independent
variable (it causes the change in income levels). Income level is the dependent
variable. The income an individual earns "depends" or is determined by the influence
of education.

F. Correlation
One of the most common research mistakes is to assume that a high correlation between two
variables means that one variable (independent) causes some change in another variable
(dependent).
A correlation exists when a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable. The
fact that a correlation exists means that the two variables are associated statistically with one
another. However, the mere fact that associations exist, does not necessarily mean that a change in
one variable causes a change in another variable. Correlations are an indication that causality may
be present. They do not necessarily indicate causation (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 38).
G. Spurious Correlations
A spurious correlation is one where the apparent correlation between two variables is actually caused
by a third variable (Henslin, 1999:130)
H. Causal Logic (Cause and Effect)
One of the most common research mistakes is to assume that a high correlation between two
variables proves that there is a causal link between them. In other words, people assume if two
variables are related, then obviously one causes the other.
Causality is rather difficult to demonstrate. How can one tell whether a change in one variable is
"causing" a change in another variable? There are three requirements that must exist before one can
begin to think about whether there is a cause and effect relationship.
1. Temporal order:
The independent variable has to occur before the dependent variable.
2. Association (or correlation):
A change in one variable is associated with a change in the other variable.
3. Elimination of plausible alternatives:
The researcher has to ensure that the association between the two variables is not caused by a third
variable (e.g., there are no spurious correlations). In order to show that one variable cause a change
in another variable the scientist has to control for other factors that might be influencing the
relationship
4. Does it make sense?
Finally, there is also an implicit fourth condition. The causal relationship has to make sense or fit
within a theoretical framework (Henslin, 1999:131).
I. Validity and Reliability
Validity exists when concepts and their measurement accurately represent what they claim to
represent while reliability is the extent to which findings are consistent with different studies of the
same thing or with the same study over time.
V. Methods of Gathering Data
Weber suggested that sociology needs several methods of investigation. The following material
provides various benefits and problems associated with four methods of gathering data.
A. Case Studies (field study)
1. Description
• Case studies (or field studies) explore social life in its natural setting, observing and interviewing people
where they live, work, and play (Kendall, 1998:25). 
2. Advantages
• Its advantages are that the researcher can study individuals in their natural setting (e.g., at home, at
work, playing, etc.). Case studies provided volumes of information such that at the end of the study the
researcher has a thorough understanding of the individuals involved in the study.  
3. Disadvantages
• Drawbacks to the case study include the fact that social scientists cannot usually investigate many
cases because of time constraints. Another problem with the case study is that the results may not be
generalizable to the population at large.  
B. The Survey (Interviews)
1. Description
• The researcher asks questions of the cases face to face or in a questionnaire.  
2. Advantages
• The advantages are that data collection is more systematic (you ask the same questions of every
case).  
• Because it is systematic and generally more condensed, the researcher can investigate more cases.
Survey research can, in fact, be applied to several thousand (or million) cases. The U.S. Census
begins as a survey of the population. 
• Findings may be generalizable to larger populations.  
3. Disadvantages
• When relying on a survey questionnaire, much information is lost. Facial expressions are not recorded.
Environmental considerations are missed.  
• Furthermore, information can be lost because the interviewer failed to ask the right question.  
C. Experiment
1. Description
Kendall (1998:26) describes an experiment as a "carefully designed situation (often taking place in a
laboratory) in which the researcher studies the impact of certain factors on subjects' attitudes or
behaviors."
2. Advantages
• The experiment offers a high degree of exactness because one can control everything in a laboratory
setting.  
• Variables can be precisely studied. Natural science uses this approach most often. So does
psychology.  
• It is easier to determine cause and effect relationships.  
3. Disadvantages
• One disadvantage with the experiment in studying social phenomena is that the environment is
contrived. People do not normally carry out their lives in a laboratory setting.  
• Ethical issues may also arise when performing experiments on people. The Nazi death-camp
experiments represent extreme instances of ethical violation. Even in ordinary university type
experiments deception and misinformation are often employed. Many consider these ethical violations.  
D. Existing data
1. Description
• Existing data includes government records (census), personal documents, or mass communication
(published books, the news, movies).  
• The Statistical Abstract of the United States is an excellent source of existing data. 
2. Advantages
 • The advantages are that data are generally easy to obtain. They already exist and can be found in most
university libraries.  
• Much existing data are also standardized. Standardization makes it easier to compare one set of data
with another.  
3. Disadvantages
• One problem associated with existing data is that the researcher must use the format provided. For
example, a researcher studying poverty would be frustrated with the census before 1970 because there
was no poverty rate in 1960 and before.  
V. Problems with Science
A. Science as a Bias
The scientific perspective might cause one to look for cause and effect type relationships.
Researchers may assume relationships are cause and effect where, in fact, many actions undertaken
by individuals, groups, etc. involve choice. Further, while one expects cause and effect to travel in
one direction, it may actually travel in the opposite direction. Furthermore, what may appear to be a
cause and effect relationship between two variables may be driven by a third variable.

Example: Science as a Bias

Science itself may play a role in how one interprets a given social phenomenon.
Furthermore, it may influence the solutions for social problems.
See: What is Hunger?

What is the Hawthorne effect?

(Researcher Effect)
The researcher's impact on his or her subjects may affect the research results. In the
study of Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant, researchers wanted to discover ways to
improve the efficiency of female workers. The researchers manipulated light levels,
pay scales, and other variables. To the surprise of the researchers, everything they
did influenced the women's' output in positive ways. The women were motivated, not
by the specific interventions, but rather by the knowledge that someone was
interested in them at all (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:27).

B. The Power Structure of Science

People who hold positions of power within universities, private enterprise, and the government have
the power to decide what is studied and published. Breaking in is difficult for dissenters. When
government agencies or corporations pay "big bucks" for science, they can determine what subjects
are studied and which results become public.
C. Statistics
A quotation that appears in many research methods texts argues that "there are lies, there are damn
lies, and there are statistics." Perhaps statistics do not really lie, but the same statistics can be
manipulated to defend a variety of positions.
D. Ethical Considerations
Example: Laud Humphreys's Tearoom Trade Study
The Laud Humphreys's (Humphreys, 1975) tearoom trade study was an investigation
into the sexual habits of upper-class male homosexuals. The setting was a public
restroom. Approximately a hundred men were observed engaging in sexual acts.
Humphreys, while playing the role of a "watch queen," followed members of the
establishment to their cars. There, he secretly recorded their license plate numbers.
Humphreys later obtained names and addresses of the tearoom patrons from police
 registers while posing as a market researcher. A year later, in disguise, Humphreys
went to the homes of the tearoom patrons to gain more insight into the lives of upper
class homosexuals. To gain entry, he used a deceptive story about a health survey.
Humphreys was careful to keep names in safety deposit boxes, and identifiers with
subject names were burned. He significantly advanced knowledge of homosexuals
who frequent "tearooms" and overturned previous false beliefs about them. There
has, however, been significant controversy surrounding the study: The subjects never
consented. Deception was used. Further, their names could have been used to
blackmail subjects, to end marriages, or to initiate criminal prosecution. The mental
anguish brought upon the tearoom patrons was severely criticized (Neuman,
1994:432).

 
Bibliography
Thanks to FOOD FIRST for permission to reprint this article which was originally
found in the January/February, 1987 edition of the La Montanita Food Co-op
Newsletter in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Later this article was reprinted in the Paso
Del Norte Food Co-op's May, 1987 newsletter in El Paso, Texas.
The material presented below is intended to complement the discussion concerning problems with
science. It's not meant as a critique of those who use quantitative methods. Rather, "What is Hunger"
is included to highlight the idea that the research method chosen has significant impact on the type of
questions one might ask as well as the conclusions one might draw.

Despite a year of heightened attention to famine in Africa and huge amounts of donated food, millions
of people on that continent are still starving. This is hunger in its acute form, but there is another form.
It is less visible. It is the chronic, day-in, day-out hunger afflicting as many as 800-million people.
While chronic hunger rarely makes headlines, it is just as deadly. Each year it kills as many as 18-
million people--more than twice as many as died annually during World War II.
These statistics are staggering. They shock and alarm, however, several years ago I began to doubt
the usefulness of such numbers. Numbers can numb, distancing us from what is actually very close
to us.
So I ask myself--what really is hunger?
Is it the gnawing pain in the stomach when we try to stay on that new diet? Is it the physical depletion
that comes with chronic undernutrition?
Yes, but it is more. I became convinced that as long as we conceive of hunger only in physical
measures, we will never truly understand it, certainly not its roots.
What, I ask myself, would it mean to think of hunger in terms of universal human feelings, feelings
that each one of us have experienced at some time in our lives? I will mention only three such
emotions to give you an idea of what I mean.
To begin with, being hungry means making choices that no human being should have to make. In
Guatemala, many poor Indian families send a son to join the army. They know that this same army is
responsible for killing tens of thousands of civilians, mostly the Indians themselves. But the $25 a
month the army pays each soldier's family--half the total income of a typical poor family in Guatemala-
-may be the only means the family has to feed their other children.
Dr. Charles Clements is a former Air Force Pilot and Vietnam veteran who, as a medical doctor, spent
a year treating peasants in El Salvador. In his book, Witness to War, he describes a family whose son
and daughter had died from fever and diarrhea. "Both had been lost," he writes, "in the years when
Camila and her husband had chosen to pay their mortgage, a sum equal to half the value of their
crop, rather than keep the money to feed their children. Each year, the choice was always the same.
If they paid, their childrens' lives were endangered. If they didn't, their land could be repossessed."
Thus, being hungry means anguish, the anguish of making impossible choices. But it is more.
In the United States and throughout the world, the poor are made to blame themselves for their
poverty. Walking into a home in the rural Philippines, the first words I heard were an apology for the
poverty of the dwelling. Today, millions of Americans who once proudly claimed they would not
accept welfare are dependent on soup kitchens to feed their families.
Being hungry means living in humiliation.
Anguish and humiliation are a part of what hunger means, but increasingly throughout the world,
hunger has a third dimension. In Guatemala, in 1978, I met two highland peasants. With the help of a
U.S. based voluntary aid group, they were teaching other poor peasants to make "contour ditches,"
reducing the erosion on the steep slopes to which they had been pushed by wealthy land-owners in
the valley. Two years later, the friend who had introduced us visited our institute in San Francisco. I
learned that one of the peasants I had met had been killed and the other had been forced to go
underground. Their crime was teaching their neighbors better farming techniques. Any change that
might make the poor less dependent on low-paying jobs on plantations threatens Guatemala's
oligarchy.
Increasingly, then, the third dimension of hunger is fear.
What if we were to refuse simply to count the hungry? What if instead we tried to understand hunger
as three universal emotions: anguish, humiliation, and fear? We would discover that how we
understand hunger determines what we think are its solutions.
If we think of hunger as numbers (numbers of people with too few calories), the solution also appears
to us in numbers (numbers of tons of food aid or numbers of dollars in economic assistance). But
once we understand hunger as real families coping with the most painful of human emotions, we can
perceive hunger's roots in powerlessness. We need only ask ourselves: when we have experienced
any of these emotions ourselves, hasn't it been when we felt out of control of our lives? Powerless to
protect ourselves and those we love?
Truly, then hunger is the ultimate symbol of powerlessness.
With this insight, our responsibility to the hungry becomes clear. Food giveaways can fill bellies but
they can never end hunger. For unlike food, one cannot give people power over their lives. What we
can do, however, is make sure that we do not further undercut the hungry by blocking their efforts at
change. Instead of asking ourselves how many tons of food or how many dollars in aid poor people
need, we must ask ourselves: Are the policies of our government and multinational corporations
shoring up the political and economic power of a few, making the powerlessness of the many
inevitable?
Statistics will not provide the answer to such a question. Only identifying with needless human
suffering will.

Culture
May 23, 2009
by Russ Long

Key Concepts
• culture • folkways
• culture shock • mores
• ethnocentrism • taboos
• cultural relativism • values
• norms
I. Culture and Society
A. What is Culture?
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior.
• Culture is all the values, norms, and customs that people share with one another.
• Culture includes language and beliefs
• Culture is all of the material objects such as monuments, three-piece suites, the lottery,
fur coats, and fine automobiles.
• Culture is ideas (like the belief in democracy and freedom) found within a society.
• Culture is what individuals think is right and important as they interact (Schaefer,
1992:67).
Culture is a way of life. When people talk about "the way of life" of people with a distinctive life style,
whether they live in Appalachia or Norway, they are talking about culture. It defines what is important
and unimportant. Culture refers to everything that people create. Values, norms, goals, and culture in
general, develop as people interact with one another over time.
Culture accounts, in part, for the unprecedented success of the human species. It allows us to adapt
to extreme environments. We could not survive without our culture. In a sense, we create our culture,
but our culture, in turn, recreates us (See Robertson, 1989:38-42).
Culture provides the context (back ground) that we use to interact with each other. It defines
boundaries that we use to distinguish us from them.
B. Language
Henslin (2006:38-40) notes that language is the primary way people communicate with one another.
• It’s a system of symbols which all us to communicate abstract thought (Henslin,
2004:40).
• It’s a perspective which allows culture to exist.
• Language is universal in that all cultures have it, but it is not universal in that people
attach different meanings to particular sounds.
1. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argues that language provides categories through which social reality is
defined and constructed. It argues that thinking and perception are not only expressed through
language but also shaped by language.
C. Perspectives
We need to keep in mind the notion of perspective when talking about culture. A culture is a "shared
perspective." It is not absolute truth. Perspectives are limited by their nature. They allow us to see life
from only a certain angle. As we interact, we come to share ideas about the way the world is.
Perspectives filter what we see (Charon, 1986:199-203).
Example: "The Allegory of the Cave"
D. Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism, according to Farley (1988:16-17), refers to the tendency to view one's own culture as
the norm. There is a tendency to assume one's culture is superior to others. "Our" truths and values
are so central to whom "we" are that it is difficult to accept the possibility that our culture represents
only one of many. A particular culture does not represent universal "TRUTH." This is not to say that to
be proud of one's heritage is inappropriate. On the contrary, a little ethnocentrism is beneficial
because of its bonding effect. Ethnocentrism becomes a problem when we expect others to become
like us.
Example
An American who thinks citizens of another country are barbarian because they like to
attend bull fights is an example of ethnocentrism.

E. Cultural Relativism and Verstehen

To accurately study unfamiliar cultures, sociologists have to be aware of culturally-based biases. Max
Weber advocates the use of "value-free" Sociology, which means that one should eliminate, as much
as possible, bias and prejudice.
Weber calls attention to the German idea of verstehen to describe the practice of understanding
unique culture from the standpoint of others. Cultural relativism refers to the understanding of a
culture on its own terms. In essence "you have to be able to stand in the other persons shoes." When
you can "see" from the perspective of another, then you can understand that culture.
II. Components of Culture
A. Cultural Universals
Cultural universal refers to a cultural item that exists in all cultures part and present. Items like
religion and language are found in every culture. They are examples of cultural universals
B. Innovation
Innovation is the process of introducing an idea or object that is new to culture. There are two forms
of innovation: discovery and invention.
C. Diffusion
Sociologists use the term diffusion to refer to the process by which a cultural item is spread from
group to group or society to society. Cultures learn from one another.
Diffusion can occur through a variety of means, among them exploration, military conquest,
missionary work, etc. (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 70).
Henslin (2004:51) contends that when groups make contact with one another, they most often
exchange nonmaterial culture.
D. Cultural Leveling
Henslin (2004:51) uses cultural leveling to describe a situation in which cultures become similar to
one another as a result of travel and communication. The fact that one can find a McDonalds or a
Coke nearly every where in the world is an example of cultural leveling.
E. Material Vs. Nonmaterial
1. Material
Culture is easily divided into material or nonmaterial concepts (See Robertson, 1989:29). Material
culture includes:
• weapons
• machines
• eating utensils
• jewelry
• art
• hair styles
• clothing
Anthropologists study material artifacts when exploring cultures which have been extinct for hundreds
or thousands of years. All which remains from ancient cultures are artifacts of their material culture.
2. Nonmaterial
Often Sociologists will investigate nonmaterial aspects. Nonmaterial culture refers to abstract human
creations. Included in this category are:
• language
• gestures
• values
• beliefs
• rules (norms)
• philosophies
• customs
• governments
• institutions
F. Ideal Culture and Real Culture?
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:42) contend that ideal culture refers to the norms and values that a
society professes to hold. Henslin (2004:49-50) ideal culture describes models to emulate and which
as worth aspiring to.
Real culture refers to norms and values that are followed in practice.
Example: Henslin (2004:49-50) notes that Americans glorify academic achievement and material
success. However, most students do not graduate with honors and most citizens are not wealthy.
Thus there is a gap between ideal culture and real culture.
G. Culture Lag
Culture lag refers to the tendency for culture to be slow to adapt to changes in technology.
Technological change can happen over night while some times it takes culture a few generations to
adapt to changes in technology (Henslin, 2004: 50).
Example: When Napster provided free music exchange, the record producers argued that the
practice was unfair, but yet no laws existed which made music sharing illegal. This example
highlights the lag between technology and social adaptation.
Henslin (2004:50) calls this the distinction between material and non material culture. Material culture
runs ahead of non material culture.
H. Culture Shock
As people grow, they develop a sense of what to expect in their familiar surroundings. "Culture
becomes the lens through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us" (Henslin,
1999:36). We don't generally question these assumptions. When one travels into a completely
different culture, for example, a rural village in Africa, one encounters different assumptions that might
violate what we come to expect as normal. An individual suddenly immersed in a unique and
unfamiliar setting experiences disorientation. This is known as culture shock (see Henslin, 2004:35).

Example
A rural individual who is suddenly taken to a large city

III. Norms and Values

Norms are rules that govern our lives and values are the goal of our lives. Norms are the
expectations, or rules of behavior, that develop out of values. Norms are guidelines for our behavior.
Norms may be informal or they may be formalized into laws.
Values are principles, standards, or qualities considered worthwhile or desirable.
Norms are rather specific while values are abstract and general in nature.
A. Norms
Norms are the shared rules or guidelines that govern our actions in society. Norms can be laws, but
they also can be procedures, morals, customs or expectations. Many times, One's position within the
social structure determines the definitions of norms. Often norms are outward expressions of a
society's deeply held and shared values.
Norms are important for defining boundaries. The text uses gangs as an example again. In order to
belong to a gang, a potential gang member has to learn the "norms" of the gang. Norms define us
and them.
1. Folkways
Folkways are norms that ordinary people follow in everyday life. Conformity is expected, but not
absolutely insisted on. Folkways are not strictly enforced.
Example: "No shirt, no shoes, no service"
2. Mores
Mores are norms are taken more seriously and are strictly enforced. Henslin (1999:44) considers
them as "essential to our core values." Henslin suggests that we insist on conformity.
Example: Flag burning, murder
3. Taboo
Taboos approximate super mores. Henslin (1999:44) argues that taboos are so "strongly ingrained
that even the thought of its violation is greeted with revulsion."
Examples are Incest and cannibalism.
4. Laws
A law is a norm that is formally enacted by a political authority. The power of the state backs laws.
5. Social Control
Society always establishes a way of ensuring that people "behave in expected and approved ways"
6. Sanctions
Henslin (1999:43) contends that sanctions are positive or negative reactions to the ways in which
people follow norms. They can be either positive or negative. Rewards accrue for conformity and
punishment for nonconformity. They can be material, such as a fine for not adhering to a norm, but
they can also be gestures, "such as frowns, stares, harsh words, or raised fists" (Henslin, 1999:43).
B. Values
• Each culture has a general consensus of what is worth working for (ends).
• Values refer to that which we consider important or unimportant, desirable or
undesirable, good or bad, and beautiful or ugly.
• They guide most of our actions.
• Values are long range commitments to ends that people share culturally.
• Values are abstract and general.
• Essentially, values describe our "moral" goals in society.
• Values indicate the standards by which people define their ideas about what is desirable
in life.
IV. Variations Within Cultures:
Sub-Cultures and Counter Cultures
Some cultures in the U.S. have remained relatively isolated from the dominant culture. These are
subcultures. Charon (1986:199) points out that subcultures have goals, values, and norms that are
different from those of the dominant culture. Although their culture differs from the dominant culture,
they do not openly oppose the dominant culture. Members of subcultures are usually content to avoid
the dominant culture.
Countercultures, on the other hand, like the SDS, Hippies, and the Black Panthers are examples of
subcultures that openly oppose the dominant culture. Countercultures actively seek to change the
dominant culture.
The following are two examples of subcultures. They are not counter cultures. Neither group seeks to
change the status quo.
A. The Amish
The Amish represents a subculture. Hostetler (1980 in Charon, 1986:218) describes the Amish as
governed by the teachings of the Bible. There is a strong desire among the Amish to separate
themselves from the outside world. They have a dualistic view of the world. They see good and evil,
light and darkness, truth and falsehood. The Amish have little interest in improving the material world.
Instead they seek salvation.
The goal of the Amish to separate themselves (as much as possible) from the "negative." They define
negative as urban and distant from god. They see the city as the "center of leisure," of
nonproductivity, and wickedness. To avoid evil, the Amish forbid all intimate contact with outsiders.
Contamination by the outside world tempts one away from the kingdom of god. Part of the separation
from the outside includes not using electricity, telephones, or automobiles. Married men grow beards,
but are not allowed to grow mustaches. They do not encourage formal education past elementary
school. The Amish use horses and other nonmechanical equipment for farming.
B. The Vice Lords
The Vice Lords is another subculture. In a book called Vice Lords R. Lincoln Keiser (in Charon,
1987:221-4) discussed four aspects [which Keiser calls ideological sets] that the Vice Lords use to
define their world and guide their actions. Keiser defines four ideological sets which he calls Heart
ideology, Soul ideology, brotherhood ideology, and game ideology.
1. Heart Ideology:
Heart ideology refers to the displays of courage and daring which are important for the Vice Lords. A
member has to show that he's willing to put his personal safety on the line. An individual who talks a
lot about fighting, but who doesn't back up his rhetoric is a "punk."
2. Soul Ideology:
Soul for the Vice Lords has the same general connotation as it does for the Black community. Soul
refers to ways of conducting ones self that strips away the superficial surface and gets down to the
nitty-gritty. Soul is the essence of the Black community. The Vice Lords judge one another in terms of
soul.
3. Brotherhood Ideology:
The spirit of brotherhood is also important. Drinking wine is an important shared social experience for
the group. Each person contributes what money he has for a "bottle." Each then gets an equal
amount regardless of how much money he puts in. Drinking wine reinforces the brotherhood.
4. Game Ideology:
In "game ideology" the gang member attempts to manipulate other gang members by playing games.
Manipulating others through games is a significant part of the Vice Lords life. Such games may
include hustling money from strangers. A "light weight" game player may simply ask for money. More
than likely he gets turned down. A "heavy" on the other hand may concoct a story that another street
gang is going to jump the stranger. There for the stranger should pay protection money to the "lords."

Bibliography
Charon, Joel
1986 Sociology: A Conceptual Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1987 The Meaning of Sociology: A Reader. Englewood, CA: Prentice hall.
Henslin, James M.
1999 Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (4th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2004 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (5th Ed.) Allyn and Bacon.
Robertson, Ian
1989 Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishing.
Schaefer & Lamm
1992

Socialization
August 2, 2007
by Russ Long

I. Nature Vs. Nurture

The nature vs. nurture debate explores the relative importance of cultural (social environment) and
biological (heredity) factors in the developmental process of human beings. Is our biology most
important in determining who we are or is our social environment? Do we learn our character or is it
determined at birth genetically? In all likelihood the answer to this question is a complex interaction
between the two.
Few would reject the position that biology plays an important role. Biology provides us with large
brains that allow us to think abstractly (e.g., we can create things in our minds and build them in
reality). Biology also provides us with opposable thumbs that allows us to grasp tools.
Learning is also very important in determining who we are. The chapter on culture points out that
culture defines much of what is important to people. Further, it is responsible for our ability to adapt
to the environment.
A. Twining Studies
It is often difficult to separate learning from our biology because we begin learning at the moment we
are born. In order to document the effects of learning, social scientists sometimes use "twining
studies."
By following the life course of twins, which are separated at birth, we are able to lend support to the
hypothesis that the environment (e.g., learning) has far-reaching effects in human development.
Social experiences appears to override biology.
For example, Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997: 103-104) describe research involving twins, which
compares criminal records of twins. The research shows a low correlation between genetic factors
and criminal behavior. In other words, people learn criminal behavior.
II. Problems with the Concept Human Nature
A. What is Human Nature?
Charon (1987:56-59) points out that our acts and beliefs are often based on our assumptions about
human nature. Human nature refers to nearly permanent qualities which humans' posses. They are
also biologically based. One should be able to see these characteristics in every culture (e.g., people
have an innate urge to reproduce, find shelter, and find food).
Human nature should not be used to refer to characteristics that come about because of the
environment or our society.
B. Impossible to Determine Human Nature
Biology certainly determines part of what we are, but we start learning as soon as we are conceived.
Sense what we learn is so important to who we are and what we do, how can we separate
biologically determined behavior from learned behavior
C. Human Nature: An Excuse to End Discussion
The second problem is that human nature is often used as an excuse to close off discussion on social
topics. Human nature is used to justify inequality rather than search for reasons for inequality.

Example:
If we blame prejudice on human nature, we may tend to assume that solutions to that
social problem do not exist. Note how in South Africa, "it's natural to hate."

III. Social Survival

Physical contact with others is essential to meet our social and emotional needs. The very survival of
the individual and the group depends on its members being properly socialized (See Robertson,
1989:69-74).
A. Feral Children
Feral means untamed, savage, and wild. Feral children literally describe children raised in the wild by
wild animals. Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:68-70) contend that numerous accounts exist which
describe children raised by animals. They argue that most stories of children raised in the wild are
untrustworthy.
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:68) call attention to one reasonably well documented
case of a boy named Victor who was apparently found in a rural area of France. Victor, a
seven-year-old boy had apparently been raised in the wild.
In general, the explanation that "wild children" are raised by wild animals is more than likely an
excuse to cover up extreme child abuse. On occasion, children are discovered who have few social
skills and who lack the ability to speak. Upon closer inspection, it is discovered that these children
suffer from extreme social isolation.
B. Children Raised in Isolation
There are numerous accounts of children raised in near total isolation. Appelbaum and Chambliss
(1997:70) introduce us to a girl named "Genie." Genie was raised in near isolation for the first twelve
years of her life. She was often strapped to a child's potty or confined to a sleeping bag. She saw
only her father and mother and this contact was occurred only at feeding. Needless to say, she failed
to develop social skills.
It is apparent that sever social isolation contributes to poor social development, but it's difficult to
prove "scientifically." Social workers encounter children raised in isolation at the end of the process
of isolation. (Presumably, the children are removed to more "humane" surroundings.) It's impossible
to say whether the "wild" behavior is a result of the isolation or the result of genetic problems that may
have caused the isolation in the first place.
Ethics rule out doing experiments on the effects of isolation on children. One cannot simply isolate a
child from human contact to see what happens. There fore, research on isolation has to focus on
children who have experienced isolation in the past or it has to investigate the effects of isolation on
animals.
C. Institutionalized Children: Rene Spitz
Rene Spitz explored the development (or lack of development) of institutionalized children. In the
1945 study involving human babies, Spitz's followed the social development of babies who, for
various reasons, were removed from their mothers early in life. Some children were placed with foster
families while others were raised in institutions (e.g., a nursing home). The nursing home babies had
no family-like environment. The setting was very institutional. Care was provided by nurses who
worked eight hour shifts. The babies raised in the nursing home environment suffered seriously. More
than a third died. Twenty-one were still living in institutions after 40 years. Most were physically,
mentally, and socially retarded.
D. The Harlow Study
The importance of the social environment is demonstrated by Harry and Margaret Harlow. In a
laboratory setting, the Harlow's removed baby monkeys from their mothers at birth. The babies were
provided with all the necessities of life such as food and warmth (temperature), but the babies had no
contact with other monkeys. Bazaar behavior developed. The Harlow's concluded that social isolation
caused the monkeys raised in isolation to develop abnormally.
E. Conclusion
Research like that of Spitz and the Harlow's prove that people need physical contact throughout life.
Isolation will bring on hallucinations, extreme apathy, anxiety, and the loss of the sense of self.
IV. Socialization
Socialization is learning (see Charon, 1987:63-69). Socialization refers to all learning regardless of
setting or age of the individual. Socialization is the process by which we learn the ways of a
particular group. In every group one has to learn the rules, expectations, and truths of that group,
whether the group is your family, the army, or the state (nation).
Socialization is the process where by people acquire personality and learn the way of life of their
society. Essentially, one has to learn Culture. Learning culture encompasses all the truths, values,
rules, and goals that people share with one another. Culture is a shared perspective.
The most important time when socialization occurs is between the ages of one and ten. We obviously
learn throughout our lives, but this first ten years is most important in determining who we are for the
rest of our lives.
A. Primary Socialization
Primary socialization is the process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions
appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. For example, Eskimos learn to enjoy
eating the raw intestines of birds and fish while Chinese people eat Carp's heads and the tripe
(stomach tissue) of pigs (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 98).
B. Anticipatory Socialization
Anticipatory socialization refers to the processes of socialization in which a person "rehearses" for
future positions, occupations, and social relationships (See Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:76).
Henslin (2004:71) offers the example of a high school student who, upon hearing he had been
accepted to a university, began to wear college student-type cloths.
In his last semester of high school, Michael has received word that he has been accepted
to State University. Soon he begins to dismiss high school activities as being "too high
schoolish," and begins to wear clothing styles and affect mannerisms that are characteristic
of State University students. Michael is exhibiting signs of anticipatory socialization.

The Looking-Glass Self

The looking-glass self is the term Charles Horton Cooley coined to describe the process by
which we develop a sense of self. We see ourselves through the eyes of other people.
We may even use those views of ourselves when formulating our own self-concept.
For example,
Mattie is a new sociology professor at the local college. During her first lecture, she noticed
that some students were yawning. Based on her interpretation of the students yawning,
Mattie has decided she is a boring teacher.

C. Gender Socialization and Gender Roles

Henslin (1999:76) contends that "an important part of socialization is the learning of culturally defined
gender roles." Gender socialization refers to the learning of behavior and attitudes considered
appropriate for a given sex. Boys learn to be boys and girls learn to be girls. This "learning" happens
by way of many different agents of socialization. The family is certainly important in reinforcing gender
roles, but so are one’s friends, school, work and the mass media. Gender roles are reinforced through
"countless subtle and not so subtle ways" (1999:76).
Examples:
Henslin (2004:66) suggests that the fact that parents let their preschool boys roam farther
from home than their preschool girls illustrates the how girls are socialized to be more
dependent.
A parent who buys hi male children trucks while buying his female children dolls is
engaging in gender socialization.

D. Resocialization
Resocialization is the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors. It refers to
the process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in
one's life. Resocialization occurs throughout the human life cycle (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 113).
Resocialization can be intense with the individual experiencing a sharp break with past and the
learning and exposure to radically different norms and values. An example would be the experience
of a young man or woman leaving home to join the Marines. Radical resocialization occurs in a total
institution.
E. Total Institutions
This term was coined in 1961 by Erving Goffman and was designed to describe a society which is
generally cut off from the rest of society but yet still provides for all the needs of its members.
Therefore, total institutions have the ability to resocialize people either voluntarily or involuntarily. For
example, the following would be considered as total institutions: prisons, the military, mental hospitals
and convents (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 113).
Goffman lists four characteristics of such institutions:
1. All aspects of life are conducted in the same place and under the same single authority.
 2. Each phase of a members daily activity is carried out in the immediate company of
others. All members are treated a like and all members do the same thing together.
3. Daily activities are tightly scheduled. All activity is superimposed upon the individual by
a system of explicit formal rules.
4. A single rational plan exists to fulfill the goals of the institution.
V. Agents of Socialization
Agents of socialization are people and/or groups that influence self concepts, emotions, attitudes and
behavior (Henslin, 1999:76-81)
A. The Family
The family is the most important of the agents of socialization. Family is responsible for, among other
things, determining one's attitudes toward religion and establishing career goals.
B. The School
The school is the agency responsible for socializing groups of young people in particular skills and
values in our society.
C. Peer Groups
Peers refer to people who are roughly the same age and/or who share other social characteristics
(e.g., students in a college class).
D. The Mass Media
E. Other Agents: Religion, Work Place, The State

Bibliography
Appelbaum, Richard P. and William J. Chambliss
1997 Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New York: Longman.
Charon, Joel
1986 Sociology: A Conceptual Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1987 The Meaning of Sociology: A Reader. Englewood, CA: Prentice hall.
Henslin, James M.
1999 Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (4th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2004 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (5th Ed.) Allyn and Bacon.
Robertson, Ian
1989 Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishing.
Schaefer & Lamm (1992)

PART 2: Social Order

What is Social Structure?
Social structure refers to patterns around which society is organized. Henslin (1999:96) defines social
structure as "the framework of society that was already laid out before you were born." Social mobility
is often achieved by routes provided by the social structure. In a bureaucracy, the patterns are well
defined (in the army one moves up in rank).
There are micro aspects of social structure such as statuses and roles. Larger social structures
include groups and institutions (e.g., government, education, religion). Still larger are more obscure
structures, (like those related to the economy). Often, ordinary people are not even aware of their
existence. These obscure structures none-the-less have great impact on the character of society
overall.

Macro vs. Micro Approaches to Sociology

The micro-level refers to social relations that involve direct social interaction with
others including families, friends, and coworkers. Symbolic Interactionist Theory
explore micro-sociological issues.
 • An example would be Liebow and Anderson's study of how street corner men
in Washington coped with life on a day-to-day basis.
The macro-level refers to the larger, more invisible, and often more remote social
processes that help to shape the micro world. Macro processes include political,
economic, cultural, and other institutional social forces (Appelbaum and Chambliss,
1997:6). Functionalists and Conflict Theory are the domain of macro-level studies.
• Karl Marx's concern with social class is an example of macro sociology

II. Micro Sociology:

Roles, Status, and Expectations
Henslin (1999:95-97) draws a distinction between status and roles. Status refers to the social
positions that exist in society while roles refer to "expected" patterns of behavior, obligations, and
privileges attached to a particular social status. Associated with each role (or social position) are
many expectations concerning how a person should behave.
Expectations are like norms. Viewing life simply in terms of roles that people occupy, one begins to
see all life as if it were a stage play. Shakespeare said in "As You Like It":
All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players They have their exits and their
entrances And one man in his time plays many parts
To act in a role is simply to act according to the norms (rules) and expectations attached to it.
A. Ascribed Status Vs. Achieved Status
Henslin (1999:96) calls attention to the distinction between ascribed status and achieved status.
Ascribed statuses are involuntary. One is born with ascribed status such as race or sex. Age is also
an ascribed status.
Achieved status, on the other hand, is earned. It is based on merit.
B. Role Distancing and Role Conflict
Unlike a stage play, however, we do not define roles. We negotiate social roles.
1. Role Distancing
When an individual disagrees with the expectations associated with a particular role, the individual
may try to de-emphasize the importance of that role. Irving Goffman (1961) calls this "role distancing."
Role distancing is the act of separating oneself from the role. For example, the actor may only play
the role in a tongue and cheek fashion.
2. Role Conflict
Some roles that have to be played contradict other important roles (See Henslin, 1999:108). Here the
individual does not know what is expected. We call this "role conflict."
Example:
The conflict experienced between having to be a mother and having to be a wage
earner simultaneously.
Example:
Teenagers often experience conflict between the role of child and that of adult.

C. Expectations and Inequality: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Henslin (481:1999) contends that a self-fulfilling prophecy refers to a false assumption
of what is going on that happens to come true simply because it was predicted.
Example: A rumor spreads that a bank is in trouble and that depositors will not be
able to get their money. As a result of the rumor, depositors rush to the bank to get
their money. The initial rumor was false, but now it may be true that depositors can't
get their money because of the run on the bank.
The self-fulfilling prophecy helps maintain and perpetuate inequality on a societal level. If a society
holds negative expectations toward a particular group of people (e.g., the group is expected to
perform in a sub par fashion), that group may internalize these expectations. Literally, they may begin
to behave according to the expectations (see Henslin, 1999:323). Negative behavior will, in turn,
provide justifications for a dominant group to continue a policy of disrespect. Social structure helps in
the formation and maintenance of expectations for both parties.
The Zimbardo study and the Rosenhan experiment highlight the "self-fulfilling prophecy." If one
expects a certain kind of behavior from an individual, one may unconsciously create the conditions
that fulfill expectations. For example, an athlete who thinks he is a loser, seldom wins. However, an
athlete who believes that he is a winner tends to win (all other things held equal).

Social Interaction in Everyday Life

Ethnomethodology
Andersen & Taylor (2001:94) contend that one way to study norms is to observe what
happens when norms are violated. Ethnomethodology is a technique for studying
human interaction by deliberately disrupting social norms and observing how
individuals respond. The idea is that the disruption of social norms helps one discover
the normal social order.
Impression Management and the Dramaturgy Model
Andersen & Taylor (2001:95-6) contends that impression management is a process
by which people control how other will perceive them.
For example, a student who hands in a term paper late will try to convince the
professor that he or she is really a very diligent individual, but that, due to
circumstances beyond their control, they could not get the paper in on time.
For example, before one goes to a job interview, they may buy new closes and have
their hair cut. By going to a job interview well-groomed, the prospective employee is
trying to let their future boss know that they will be a great employee (Henslin,
2004:97).
Irving Goffman argued that social interaction is a series of attempts by one person to
con the other. Goffman would argue that trying to find ways to con other is at the heart
of social interaction. While this view may be a bit melodramatic, one should agree that
we do present ourselves differently depending of the situation. One responds
differently to their mother when compared to a date. Goffman contends that the
various settings, are like stages where we give performances.
The dramaturgical model of social interaction assumes that "people are actors on a
stage in the drama of everyday life" (2001:96).

III. The Power of Roles

A. The Zimbardo Study
The Zimbardo study (1971) (also called the Stanford Prison Study) considers the behavior of mature,
stable, intelligent, middle-class college students who were asked to play roles. Twenty-four students
were paid $15 dollars a day.
The 24 students were randomly assigned to two groups. Half were asked to play the role of prison
guards. The other half were asked to play the role of prisoners.
Once groups assignments were made, the Palo Alto police literally arrested the students, whom
Zimbardo defined as prisoners. They put them through the whole incarceration process as if they
were real prisoners (e.g., the were picked up, booked, finger printed, and placed in a holding cell). At
this point the "prisoners" were blind folded, their cloths were taken from them, and they were
transported to Zimbardo's labs at Stanford. At this point the "guards" of Zimbardo's project took over
(Zimbardo, 1971).
The student-guards were told that they had to make the student-prisoners loose their since of identity
(e.g., college student) and accept their new identity as prisoner. Guards could not physically mistreat
the student-prisoners, but they could intimidate. They were also given symbols of power and
oppression such as billy-clubs. The prisoners arrived at "jail" with chains on their feet. They were
often asked to strip and in the process guards would humiliate the prisoners. They would wake up
prisoners at odd times (like 2:30 am) for cell searches (Zimbardo, 1971).
Within a few days the students internalized their roles. Charon (1986:173) contends the situation
became so nightmarish that the study came to an early end. On the second day of the study, the
prisoners protested and as punishment guards took away their beds. Other student-prisoners who
didn't follow the rules were placed in "the hole" which was an area used for solitary confinement.
Going to the bathroom became a privilege for the model prisoners.
According to Zimbardo, "There were dramatic changes in virtually every aspect of their behavior,
thinking, and feeling. We saw some boys (guards) treat other as if they were despicable animals.
Those playing prison guards took pleasure with inflicting cruelty. The other boys (prisoners) became
servile, dehumanized robots who thought only of escaping, of their own individual survival, and of
their mounting hatred for the guards" (see Charon, 1986:174). Zimbardo (1971) noted that some
prisoners attempted to fake insanity in an effort to be removed from the experiment. In the case of
one young man, the prisoner appeared to actually "loose it."
B. The Rosenhan Study
The Rosenhan study highlights the power of roles also. Expectations associated with roles and
statuses are also highlighted. The Rosenhan study shows that when an individual is "labeled" or
defined are occupying a certain role by society. Altering the perceptions of others is very difficult.

Master Status
Master Status is a label that supersedes all other labels (Henslin, 1999:96).
Rosenhan notes that often there is only a loose association between the person labeled mentally ill
and the actual act. Often the label or status that we impose upon others becomes the primary tool for
knowing how to respond to other individual. To put it in other words, if we see a person in a given
role, certain expectations accompany that role. It becomes very difficult for ordinary people to "know
an individual" outside those perceptions and expectations.
To demonstrate this point, Rosenhan asked: "what would happen if sane people sought admission to
a psychiatric hospital?" To explore this question, several of his graduate students went to psychiatric
hospitals complaining of hearing voices. Professional staff diagnosed all as having mental disorders.
All the students were admitted to the psychiatric hospitals. After their admission, however, they
stopped displaying all inappropriate behavior (i.e., hearing voices). Their goal after admission was to
convince the staff that they were sane.
Hospital staff diagnosed most of the pseudo patients as schizophrenic. The graduate students were
hospitalized for an average of nineteen days. The staff never did realize that the pseudo patients
were frauds. Other patients, however, did realize. 35 of 118 "real" patients expressed suspicions like:
"You're not crazy, You're journalist or protesters" or "Your checking up on the hospital."
Apparently, once they stuck the label on the patient, nothing the pseudo patient could do would
change the expectations of the professional staff. Rosenhan notes that in all likelihood some of the
professional staff also realized that Rosenhan's students were not really "sick," but said nothing in
order to save face.
In the second part of the experiment Rosenhan informed the hospitals that they could expect one or
more pseudo patient to enter their hospital. Of 193 patients who were admitted, forty-one were
alleged to be pseudo patients by at least one hospital's staff. In reality, no pseudo patients were
admitted.
IV. Macro Sociology: Institutions
• Family, religion, and politics are examples of institutions (Henslin, 2004:83).
• Institutions (in Charon, 1986:229) are structures that define the right and correct ways of doing
things in society.
• Institutions help establish and maintain social order.
 • Social institutions shape our behavior (Henslin, 2004:83).
• Social institutions are the means that each society develops to meet its basic needs (Henslin,
2004:83).
• Institutions act as norms.
• Institutions tend to support the ideology of a society. For example, the educational system (as
well as the rest of the institutions) in America support the ideology of democracy and free
enterprise.
• As society becomes more industrialized, institutions become more formal (Henslin, 2004:83).
A. Institutions vs. Organization
Institutions can be organization, but they are different from organizations. Public education is an
institution. El Paso Community college is an organization. GM is an organization. The "corporation" is
an institution. Often one hears mental hospitals or prisons called institutions. One hears of people
being institutionalized. The specific hospital is not an institution, speaking sociologically. The mental
health system is an institution. If one is institutionalized, he or she becomes a part of a particular
system of organization. The idea of prison, however, is an institution. The same idea holds no matter
what prison in which an individual is.
V. Structure Below the Surface
Essentialism is an idea that comes out of the French Structuralist School of Althusser and Foucoult.
Essentialism generally refers to social structures that lie below the surface of observable society.
According to Sartre, essentialists are concerned with the unconsciousness foundations of human
culture. For essentialists the descriptive level (what people see) is only one of appearance and not
cause. Cause is hidden. To understand society, one needs to go beyond description (the surface) to
the causal level. The characteristics of the economy determines what we see on the surface (in
government, size of family, type of profession, major concerns of criminal justice, etc.)

Bibliography
Charon, Joel
1986 Sociology: A Conceptual Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Henslin, James M.
1999 Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (4th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2006 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (6th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2008 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (7th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Zimbardo, Philip
1971 "Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Study." (Movie)
Definition of Social Organization
Charon (1986:110) contends that social organization refers to patterns of social interaction. Within
organization, expectations become more fixed. Actors agree on important matters affecting
interaction and control themselves so that cooperation can occur. The patterns that characterize
social interaction (i.e., organization) have developed over time. Generally speaking, the longer the
patterns exist, the more expectations become fixed. At some point certain organizations eventually
come to wield great power within society.
This paper explores various levels of organization. It first investigates the smallest level of social
organization, the dyads, first. It then proceeds to subsequently larger forms of organization. After
dyads are discussed, it explores small groups. Formal organization follows groups, then communities,
nation states and finally world-system. Much attention is paid to groups and formal organization.
Bureaucracy is an especially salient issue for nearly everyone worldwide. The larger levels of
organization (i.e., the world system) are dealt within the fourth part of the course.
II. The Smallest Level of
Social Organization: Dyads
The dyad is the smallest level of organization that exists. Dyads consist of two people.
• Interaction is very personal and intimate.
• require continuing active participation and commitment of both members
• People make up rules during the interaction.
• are the most unstable of social groups
A unique feature of dyads is that each individual in the dyad has total veto power over any aspect of
the relationship (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:84).
III. Groups
A. General Characteristics of Groups
1. A Group Consists of People Who Interact and Form Social Patterns
A group is at least one person larger than a dyad. It has three or more people. Groups are different
from dyads in that they depend less on the individual actor for continuity.
2. Increases in Size Equals Loss of Freedom
As the group grows in numbers, the individual freedom of any particular member is de-emphasized.
Furthermore, as the group grows in size, more emphasis is put on the well-being of the group.
3. Interaction Reaffirms Social Patterns
Groups depend on interaction to affirm and reaffirm social patterns. The strength of patterns in the
group depends on the history of the interaction. Usually, the longer the group exists, the stronger the
bonds become.
4. Groups Contribute to Larger Organization
Social organization at the "formal level" is sufficiently large that continuous interaction among all
actors is impossible. Even in large organizations interaction between individuals still occurs in small
groups. The interaction of small groups within the frame work of larger organizations reaffirms the
social patterns of the larger social organizations.
5. Groups Define Reality for the Individual
The group's definition of reality is a pattern that the individual assumes. The individual forms
expectations about the world through group involvement. One learns within the group what the
important issues are and the guide lines (the rules) that the group expects you to live by.

The Asch Line Experiment

Andersen & Taylor (2001:123) notes that the Asch Conformity Experiments builds on the
perception that social influence is strong enough to make us behave in ways that would
normally cause us discomfort. The Asch Conformity study finds that group pressure is even
stronger than the weight of objective evidence. Group pressure could persuade an
individual to say a short line was longer than an obviously longer line.

Group Think
Henslin (2006:128) describe group think as the tendency for a group to reach a consensus
opinion, even if that decision is downright stupid. Groupthink describes "collective tunnel
vision" that group members sometimes develop. Groupthink occurs when group member
think alike. The tend to think that their perspective is right and correct. Any descent is
seen as disloyalty. Descent is, therefore discouraged. Because the group allows little
critique, it proceeds down dangerous paths ignoring alternatives.

The Milgram Study

Andersen & Taylor ( 2001:124-5) describe the Milgram study as an investigation into the
obedience to authority.
 The Milgram Study showed that substantial number of people will inflict pain on other's if
ordered to do so by a person in a position of authority (Henslin, 2008:133-4).

B. Primary Groups
There are two broad categories of groups. There are primary groups and secondary groups. Primary
groups generally form around family and close friends. Individuals receive most early or primary
socialization in primary groups. Primary groups are most responsible for determining who you are.
Primary groups are where close people form emotional ties. Socialization that occurs in primary
groups is responsible for most later interaction and socialization (see Appelbaum and Chambliss,
1997:71).
1. Hippy Cultures
Although many young people tried to "drop out" during the 1960s, most had returned to the middle-
class life styles of their parents within ten years.
2. Five Characteristics of The Primary Group
a. Primary groups involve face to face interaction.
b. The interaction is unspecialized. It exists to fulfill a wide rage of personal needs.
c. Bonds that form within the primary group are relatively permanent.
d. Primary groups are small.
e. They are intimate. The primary group is characterized by a sense of "we." There
is an emotional commitment to the whole rather than to the individual or to the
specific goals of an individual member. The well-being of the group itself is, in a
sense, the goal (Like the family).
3. The Gang As a Primary Group
What happens when traditional primary groups are unavailable for the individual [like young children]?
Frederick Thrasher (1963) demonstrates the importance of gangs in this regard. Thrasher considers
gangs as part of normal development in poor neighborhoods although gangs tended to contribute to
antisocial behavior (like crime). Thrasher considers gangs as primary groups because they take on
the major responsibilities for socialization of individuals whose need's traditional families did not meet.
Thrasher noted that although gangs taught illegitimate means of self-actualization, the skills learned
within gangs were necessary for survival. Furthermore, status accrued to individuals because of their
gang related activities in their immediate neighborhood. Within the gang, illegitimate goals (as seen
from societies stand point) become legitimate for the gang members.
C. Secondary groups
1. The Characteristics of Secondary Groups
a. Secondary groups are more impersonal.
b. They are more specialized (i.e., goal oriented -- Examples include classes and/or
a job).
c. They are more temporary.
d. They are usually larger.
e. They require less of an emotional commitment.
Example: Part-time waiters in a college dinning hall.
2. Reference Groups
Reference groups represent the standards people use to evaluate themselves and others. They can
include the family, members of a church, people in the neighborhood, teachers, classmates, or co-
workers (see Henslin, 1999:153).
3. In-Group Vs. Out-Group
The in-groups are the groups which an individual feels loyalty toward. They provide a sense of
identification or belonging. The out group is the group that has individual feels antagonism toward
(Henslin, 1999:152).
4. Cliques, Networks, and Networking
a. Cliques
People don't usually communicate with all members of large groups. Cliques are small factions of
close associates that operate within larger groups (Henslin, 1999:154).
b. Social Networks
The links between an individual and his or her cliques, family, close friends and other acquaintances
make up an individual's social network (Henslin, 1999:154).
c. Networking
Sociologists refer to the conscious use or cultivation of networks as networking. Networking refers to
using social networks to establish a circle of friends usually for career advancement (Henslin,
1999:155).
D. Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
Under the topic of Urban Sociology, Toennies (in Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:406) contends
that the overall approach that people use to communicate with one another has shifted from primary
types relationships to secondary type relationships.
1. Gemeinschaft
Before the onslaught of industrialization and urbanization human relationships were characterized by
Gemeinschaft. Life was carried out in rural communities. Relationships were intimate. Citizens in
rural areas possessed a strong sense of family. Powerful folkways and mores kept people in line as
did a strong sense of religious commitment.
The Amish represent a Gemeinschaft community.
Mechanical Solidarity
The key to social cohesion in gemeinschaft type communities (i.e., the degree to which members of a
society feel united by shared values and other social bonds) lies in what Durkheim called mechanical
solidarity. Durkheim noted how people performed similar tasks and developed a shared
consciousness that united the community. An agricultural society is an example. The members of
the community have so much in common that they know how most others feel about life (Henslin,
2004:93).
2. Gesellschaft
As industrialization transformed human lives from that which was rural to that which is urban, human
relationships shifted to a state of gesellschaft. Relationships became more impersonal. Society
witnesses a breakdown in traditional family arrangements. Behavior was governed, not by religious
commitment, but rather by impersonal calculation and public opinion.
Organic Solidarity
As society gets larger, tasks become more specialized. People come to depend on each other for the
work that each contributed to the whole. Organic solidarity is based, not on similarity, but on
interdependence (Henslin, 2004:93).
IV. Formal Organizations
Formal organizations include churches, clubs, schools, armies, colleges, the IRS, and hospitals.
A. Characteristics of Formal Organizations
Characteristics of formal organizations include:
1. Impersonal interaction among group members.
2. As groups grow in size, they make objectives explicit in writing (e.g., they become more
formal).
3. Formal organizations are created to work toward specified goals. When they meet
goals, the individual moves on.
B. Three Types of Formal Organizations
There are three types of formal organizations according to Amitai Etzioni (1961).
1. Coercive Organizations
Coercive organizations rely on force to achieve order. Force is necessary because people tend to
resist being a part of the organization. Examples are prisons and mental hospitals (see Appelbaum
and Chambliss, 1997:88).
2. Utilitarian Organizations
Utilitarian organizations see individuals conforming to organization standards because organizations
pay them to be a part of that organization. Of course, most jobs are utilitarian (see Appelbaum and
Chambliss, 1997:88).
3. Normative Organizations
Normative organizations are based on a shared moral commitment. People conform to the
organizations standards out of a positive sense of obligation. Normative organizations include political
parties, religious organizations, and fraternities (see Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:88).
V. Bureaucracy
A. The Development of Formal Social Structure: Division of Labor
The impact of social structure is great indeed! Durkheim, in his epic work, The Division of Labor in
Society (1983) maintained "as society becomes larger and more complex, there is a vast increase in
the interdependence among its members as the labor needed to feed, house, educate, communicate
with, transport, care for, and defend them becomes more complex" (in Kornblum, 1988:160).
Durkheim argued that the increasing complexity was an advantage for any society because it gave
the members of society more choice and, therefore, more freedom.
Much of Durkheim's work centers on social organization. Social organization means, on one hand,
that the individual has to give up a certain amount of individual freedom. On the other hand, people
are not overly concerned about losing that freedom. By the time they are a part of an organization,
organizations have socialized them to accept the rules and goals of the organization as their own.
Individuals ultimately offer a great amount of respect to organizations. People define themselves
through the organizations to which they belong.
B. Freedom from a Durkheimian Point of View
Durkheim raised the point that the freedom an individual experiences depends on the level of social
organization (order). Imagine a condition where no reliable organization exists. Without organization a
state of anarchy would prevail. Individuals would lose the safety provided by organization and would
thus lose their freedom. On the other hand, too much organization, like that found in fascist states,
likewise places extreme limits on the freedom of individuals. With the latter, the individual can
experience too much order.
No system of organization is perfect with respect to guaranteeing freedom. Democracy may facilitate
human freedom and emancipation, but freedom does not automatically flow from democracy.
American style democracy, for example, confronts one with what Tocqueville called the "tyranny of
the majority." In a democracy, once the voting is over, the minority (those who lost the vote) must
abide by the decision of the majority. (Ex: The debate concerning abortion issues highlights this kind
of dilemma). Despite the problematic aspects of democracy, it appears that a moderate amount of
organization is most desirable.
Another freedom-limiting problem associated with developing social structure revolves around the
possibility that so many choices may overwhelm the. Furthermore, as the division of labor becomes
complex, certain groups find themselves with greater or lesser access to the higher levels of the
system. Inequality becomes institutionalized.
C. General Features Associated with Developing Social Structure
1. As society becomes more complex, the social structure becomes increasingly formal.
Positions within structure become more clearly defined, often in writing.
2. Categories within the organization become more differentiated. Jobs become
specialized and a greater variety of jobs are the result. There is also an increase in
"vertical differentiation." In other words, there are more layers across which an
individual can advance.
 3. Power within the structure becomes increasingly centralized. Initially organizational
business, such as problem control and policy implementation happened informally. As
organization becomes more complex, policy becomes explicitly stated that covers all
situations that might arise.

Iron Law of Oligarchy?

Appelbaum & Chambliss (1997:91)defines the iron law of oligarchy as an inevitable
tendency for large-scale bureaucratic organizations to become ruled by a handful of people
in a highly undemocratic fashion.

D. A Weberian Analysis of Bureaucracy

Max Weber is renowned for his analysis of bureaucracies. He interprets the features that evolve
within social structure as an attempt to make organizations more rational. Weber contends that as
social structure becomes more complex, people turn away from policies based on tradition, customs,
emotions, and personal values to policies based on efficiency and rationality.
Rationalism
Rationalism refers to the careful calculation of practical results. Capitalism encompasses the pursuit
of maximum profit and the private ownership of property. Calculated rules and procedures
characterize bureaucracies. Bureaucracies allow for more efficient decision making. They provide the
means to organize and serve many people.
McDonaldization of Society
George Ritzer maintains that the organizational features of the fast food industry have
gradually seeped into many aspects of human social life. He describes this process as the
McDonaldization of Society (Henslin, 2006:118). Much of life in modern society is
"standardized."
• We see this feature when ever we visit shopping malls.
• We experience standardization when we plan trips through travel agencies.
Everyone gets the same experience. The eat the same food, have the same sort of
travel accommodations, and visit the same tourist spots.
• When you watch the news, you get the same sort of format regardless of the
network you watch. They cover the same stories. They give the same sort of points
of view.
Efficiency brings dependability and may even lower prices, but we lose spontaneity
(Henslin, 2006:118). There are no more unique experiences.

E. Characteristics of Bureaucracy
The following characteristics represent an ideal picture of well-running bureaucracies (See Henslin,
1999:171-172).

Ideal Type
Weber coined the term ideal type (Henslin, 1999:173) to describe typical (or pure forms) of
rational or bureaucratic organizations. An ideal type is an abstract description that is based
on real cases. The ideal type reveals essential characteristics of those real cases.
1. Impersonality: Bureaucracies are a system of offices, not people. People only fill
positions.
2. Bureaucracies are a hierarchy of offices. There are always superiors with clearly
defined authority. Henslin (1999:171) notes that assignments flow downward and
accountability flows upward.
3. A Division of Labor: Each member has specific tasks to fulfill and all the tasks are
coordinated to fulfill the purpose of the organization.
4. Written Rules: Explicit rules govern the offices.
 5. Written Communication and Records: Bureaucracies carry all business out in writing.
F. The Informal Structure of Bureaucracy
Bureaucracies do not do a very good job handling unusual situations. A peculiar characteristic of
formal organization is the creation of informal patterns of communication within the formal
organization. The informal network helps in organizational coherence when the organization
encounters unusual situations. In fact, informal interaction within a bureaucracy actually makes the
bureaucracy more efficient! Sometimes the informal networks become more important than the
formal organization. Often formal rules are "bent" to adjust to "real" situations. Informal interaction
may become necessary because the formal organization becomes inefficient and cannot perform its
assigned tasks.

Example: When the Doctor Does not Arrive on Time

In a hospital labor and delivery ward, the doctor (MD) is in charge of delivering babies.
Sometimes the MD does not arrive on time and the nurse has to perform the doctor's
duties. The nurse's actions technically violates the formal rules of the hospital. The
consequences of not violating those rules, however, are obviously catastrophic.

G. Dysfunction of Bureaucracy
1. Goal Displacement
Once created, society cannot easily undo bureaucracies. Some times bureaucracy takes on a life of
its own. Once a task is completed, it seeks new goals (See Henslin, 1999:174-177).
Example: March of Dimes shifted it focus from raising funs to combat polio to raising funds for birth
defects research.
2. Self-serving Bureaucrats
Superiors act to keep their positions. The goals of bureaucrats become self-survival and self-serving.
3. Loss of Initiative
Bureaucrats become secure in their position and lose their initiative.
4. Alienation (bureaucratic)
Bureaucrats also lose their initiative because so much of their free-choice is taken away from them.
Also at the bottom of organizations, bureaucracies induce a sense of powerlessness and low moral
for people who work in the bureaucracy and for those individuals receiving the service.
Example: when one is at a job and they feel they are viewed as an object rather than a person is
experiencing alienation.
Example: From a Marxian sense, alienation refers to the experience of being cut off from the product
of a person's labor resulting in feelings of powerlessness and normlessness.
5. The Control of a Few
The centralized organizational structure enhances the power of a few individuals. People who are
familiar with the rules of how bureaucracies function maintain a sense of "quiet" control over those
who have little knowledge of how the system operates.
6. Red Tape: Bureaucracies May Become Inefficient
Bureaucracies get choked with rules to the point where they cease to function. Red tape may impede
the purpose of an organization.
7. Bureaucratic Incompetence - The Peter Principle
The Peter Principle argues that people rise to the level of their incompetence. It suggests that if an
individual does a great job at a low level in the bureaucracy, then the organization will promote that
person to the next level. If they continue to perform well, they receive yet another promotion.
Organizations will promote the individual to higher and higher rungs in the organization until they
reach a point where the worker no longer does a good job. At that point the promotions stop, but
seldom are the bureaucrats demoted. They tend to stay at the level where they have ceased to be
functional.
VI. MACRO Levels of Social Organization
A. Communities
1. Communities are large formal organizations that attain a significant degree of self
sufficiency and independence.
2. A community is a place that can be found on a map.
3. The community takes care of most basic human needs. Communities address the
social, educational, and cultural needs of its members.
4. A community has an economy and political orientation.
5. People form most of their personal relationships within the community.
Example: Communes
B. Society
1. What is a Society?
Charon (1986:142) indicates that society is a type of social organization. Like dyads and groups,
society begins with individuals who interact with one another. Through interaction patterns develop.
much larger than the organizations discussed thus far. Society Societies are all encompassing. It is
simultaneously the longest enduring, most abstract, and most all embracing social organization.
On the other hand, it is difficult to specify exactly what a society is. One might argue that a particular
society exists where individuals mutually interact with one another and where common social patterns
exist.

Example: Where Do People Interact?

People in the U.S. interact with one another on a far more regular basis than they do with
people outside the U.S. For example, people in Detroit know more about people in L. A.
than they do about people in Montreal although Montreal is much closer to Detroit.
Common patterns make us more similar to one another than we are to other societies. Such patterns
may include a common set of laws, customs, a heritage, and a class structure. Sometimes a society
shares common values and often it shares a common language. A society's patterns of interaction
are difficult to change because of their long history and because of their importance to large
segments of the population.
2. Problems Associated with the Study of Society
a. You Cannot See Society
Society does not exist in material form. You cannot put your hands on it. Social scientists cannot
measure society directly.
b. Society is a Total Experience
Society surrounds us. To study something, a researcher generally wants to be able to isolate the
phenomena. When a sociologist attempts to study society, he immediately becomes a part of the
environment that he is attempting to study. His presence alters the phenomena that he is
investigating. Example: Alaskan Natives become Anthropologists.
C. Nation-States and Society
A convenient way to visualize a society is to look at nation-states like the USA, Canada, or the UK
(See Chirot, 1986:71-3). It is obvious, however, that using the nation-state as society is flawed when
one looks at multi cultural nation-states like Lebanon or stateless societies like Palestine.
D. The World-System
Some people consider the world as society. With the aid of technological advances in communication
and transportation, the world has become more integrated. What happens between nation-states is
more the business of the world community now that it once was.
Example:
The nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, Oil and Kuwait, WTO, GATT, NAFTA

Bibliography
Appelbaum, Richard P. and William J. Chambliss
1997 Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New York: Longman.
Charon, Joel
1986 Sociology: A Conceptual Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Chirot, Daniel
1986 Social Change In The Modern Era. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich.
Durkheim, Emile
1997 The Division of Labor in Society. Simon and Schuster
Etzioni, Amitai
1961
Henslin, James M.
1999 Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (4th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2006 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (6th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2008 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (7th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Kornblum, William
1988 Sociology in a Changing World. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Thrasher, Frederic Milton
1963 The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
A General Definition of Deviance
Deviance is behavior that some people in society find offensive and which excites, or would excite, if
it were discovered, disapproval, punishment, condemnation, or hostility. Deviance is behavior that is
likely to get you into trouble. Deviant behavior is outside the bounds of the group or society (Goode,
1997:37).
Many times during a day we disagree with people, but we don't usually label those we disagree with
as deviant. Deviance is not simply behavior. It involves a moral judgment. Deviance involves a
judgment made by somebody. Actually, any act can be defined as deviant (See Henslin, 1999:192).
II. Deviance: A Relative Term
It's not possible to isolate certain acts and find them universally condemned by all societies as deviant
acts (Not even murder or incest). Even within a given society, behavior defined as deviant continually
undergoes redefinition.
Deviance, furthermore, is relative to time and place. It is not possible to find something that is
absolutely condemned by all societies. Behavior that is deviant in one society may not be in another.
Even within one society, what is deviant today may not be deviant tomorrow.
Three examples that highlight the relative nature of deviance are provided below:
A. Is killing wrong?
Usually it is. But, is murder wrong when it is done in self-defense or in warfare? Vietnam veterans
were taught to be efficient killers for war, but could not control themselves when reintroduced into
civilian life.
B. What about the case of Nelson Mandela?
For years, the ruling party in South Africa viewed him as a "dangerous political deviant." To most
South Africans, those who are Black, Mandela is a revered leader of the freedom movement (see
Kornblum, 1988:201).
C. Was Panache Villa a deviant?
The social status of a bandit, particularly one whose activities have political overtones, is ambiguous.
To those who are being robbed, as the bandit gains status (and wealth and power), the bandit is seen
as even more deviant. To the poor, however, bandits are sometimes seen as rebels who reject the
normal roles that poor people are expected to play. Through their bandit activities people like Pancho
Villa are able to display courage, cunning, and determination (See Kornblum, 1988:212).
III. Examples of Relative Definitions of Deviance:
Using Mental Health Examples
Definitions of mental disorders occur in much the same fashion that other forms of deviance receive
their definitions. Many times the definition is quite vague and varies "depending on the culture,
audience, and context." Behavior alone does not add up to mental disorder. Context is important
(Eitzen, 1986:456-7).
A. Class Context
If a poor woman shoplifts a roast, people call her a common criminal. On the other hand, if a rich
woman steals a roast, her deviant status is kleptomaniac -- a form of mental illness.
B. Sexual Context
If a woman is sexually promiscuous, she might find herself labeled as a nymphomaniac, while a man
is a stud, macho, swinger, etc.
C. Professional vs. Domestic Context
A man may be punctual and obedient during the week while he is at work, but on Saturday afternoon
he raises hell while watching the afternoon foot ball game. Both behaviors, while appearing
contradictory, are "normal" in their respective contexts. But, if he took Saturday's behavior to the
office he would find himself labeled as strange and he might even get fired. On the other hand,
passive behavior at a Saturday afternoon football game would be considered a social drag and his
peers would not want to watch football with him anymore.
D. Cultural Context
Abstinence for two years after marriage in the West would be viewed as weird and grounds for
annulment. Such behavior is, however, required for newlyweds in the Dani Tribe of New Guinea.
Sexual activity for the Dani before two years would be viewed as sexual deviance.
E. Time Context
People used to be burned at the stake for engaging in behavior that most twentieth-century people
see as normal.
IV. Demonic Possession:
Religious Explanations of Deviance
For a long time the Western view of deviance has been strongly influenced by the church's view
which dates back to the 4th century. Religious Explanations are the oldest of all explanations for
deviance. Goode (1997:65) notes that from the beginning of time to roughly the 1700s, the most
dominant explanations of deviance invoked visions of evil spirits. The deviant is seen as morally
deprived and perhaps possessed by the devil. The cause is seen as residing inside the individual.
Evil spirits possess the victim. Alcoholism is seen as a weakness, mental illness is seen as
irresponsibility, criminal and deviant acts result from giving in to our evil nature, sexual deviance is
seen as moral depravity, and rebellion is seen as immaturity. In each case the cause of deviance lies
within the individual.
It is easy to blame individuals. Societal-based problems are difficult to understand and even more
difficult to correct. People seem to prefer what is easiest. Even today, people have trouble
understanding that the cause of conditions they do not like may, in fact, be social in origin.
Solutions used to correct demonic possession seem bazaar. Holes were drilled in the head of hosts
to let the evil spirits escape. Exorcisms were also employed. The witches of Salem were brutalized!
Demonic possession lost it popularity around the 1700s.
V. The Positivist School:
Biological Theories of Deviance
The positivist school of the second half of the 19th century argues that deviant behavior was dictated
by forces beyond the control, or even the awareness, of individuals. Positivists argued that biological
abnormalities provided valid explanations for deviance. In essence, genetic predispositions create
inborn tendencies to commit deviant acts.
According to the positivist philosophers, only through scientific inquiry could one understand the
forces that drive society.
Cesare Lombroso (1836-1909), a well-known positivist, argued that physical abnormalities that afflict
people cause them to pursue deviant (or criminal) activity. Lombroso argued that criminals were
throwbacks to some sort of pre-human. Lombroso (in Kendall, 1998:191) called these criminal types
Atavists. He claimed that prisoners had "low foreheads and smaller than normal human cranial
capacities" (1998:191). Lombroso thought that he could predict deviant behavior based on skull and
body types.
A. Critique:
Biological explanations for deviance are almost useless. There is no consistent evidence that
supports the belief that social temperament is related to body type. This approach ignores the
interactions of the individual with the environment. Research shows that most people, who have
suspect genetic traits, are not deviant. Furthermore, the vast majority of criminals do not have
irregular genetic patterns.

Example: XXY
Perhaps the very fact that people look different than the general population draws
attention to those people. When that individual does something deviant, attention is
already focused upon that individual. Previous suspicions become justified.

B. A Variant on Positivism
A new type of sociobiological theory tries to apply positivist philosophy to street crime. The general
argument here is that it requires stamina to be a criminal so those people with the most stamina will
be more likely to commit crimes. This would include the young and men.
Other biological theories look for links between higher rates of aggression in men to levels of
testosterone or chromosomal abnormality. This research, however, produces no consistent findings
(Kendall, 1998:192).
VI. Functionalism
Functionalist theories focus on the preservation of social order. Deviance helps maintain social
cohesion and the collective conscious.
A. Functional Deviance
1. Deviance Contributes to Social Order
Durkheim emphasized the importance of deviance in society as a tool for boundary maintenance. The
media, who reports on deviance and the accompanying punishment, serve to educate the public by
restating society's rules. Punishing violators reaffirms the rightness of society and its rules.

Degradation ceremonies
Rituals play a role in boundary maintenance (see Henslin, 1999:211). A group that
discovers a deviant in their fold will attempt to "mark" that deviant for everyone can see.
The individual is called before the group to account for his or her deviance. People will
testify against him. The individual is found guilty. Finally, an effort is made to strip the
individual of his or her group membership. An example of degradation ceremonies is a
court martial where a guilty officer is publicly stripped of his rank. The officer is forced to
stand at attention while the insignia of his rank is ripped from his uniform (Henslin,
1999:211).

2. Deviance Contributes to Social Change

Deviance is an important element of social change because it offers alternative definitions to what is
right. Sometimes the alternative becomes acceptable and it may even become the dominant view.
Durkheim noted that the death of Socrates paved the way for intellectual freedom. Much of the civil
and human rights legislation, as well as public sentiment, have been influenced by the behavior of
those whose actions were originally judged to be in violation of the law or accepted moral convention.
For civil rights, deviant behavior called attention to inadequacies in the existing system of race
relations. Today's crime may be tomorrow's accepted behavior.
3. Dysfunctional Deviance
Functionalists (Goode, 1997:100-101) like to concern themselves with those forms of deviance that
assist in maintaining the social order. Dysfunctional deviance would be those types of deviance that
threaten the social order. I suppose some forms of political deviance might be considered here.
B. Control Theory
Kendall (1998:193) suggests that one functionalist perspective raises the question, why don't people
engage in more deviance than they do? An assumption of Control Theory is that people have a
strong desire to be deviant. Control theory assumes that people are hedonists.
Henslin (2004:143) suggests that people often do not engage in deviance because they have outer
containments emanating from a supportive family and friends. Significant others reinforce the idea
that deviance is wrong. People also have inner containments such as self-control and a sense of
responsibility that reduce deviance.

Anomie or Strain Theory:

Robert Merton's Typology of Deviance
The historic foundations of the Anomie or Strain Theory go back to the work on Emile Durkheim and
Robert Merton. For both sociologists, the cause of deviance is found in disturbances in the social
structure. People who encounter disturbances in social structure experience stress. Durkheim was
the first sociologist to investigate how disturbances in social structure prompt one to commit suicide.
Both wanted to know what accounted for the varying rates of deviancies found cross-culturally and
between social classes. Durkheim called the sensation associated with stress anomie.
Anomie or Strain Theory contends that social structure puts varying degrees of stress on individuals
in society. In order to cope with the stress individuals will begin to purse unconventional means to
relieve that stress. In essence, deviance (unconventional means) arises from purely conventional
sources.
I. Robert Merton's Explanation of Deviance
The following material represents Merton's attempt to explain deviance. According to Merton,
deviance is an adaptation by individuals to the dominant culture. Discrepancies exist between cultural
(material) goals and structural opportunities. As the discrepancy grows between the material goals of
society and the means to achieve those goals, the individual experiences more and more internal
conflict.
Example: Poor people internalize middle-class goals, like wanting a home in a middle-class suburb.
They learn to want goals, such as owning a color TV or new home, from sources such as the mass
media or school. The means to achieve their goal, however, is difficult to find. Good paying jobs are
scarce. Society has not provided the means to achieve those goals. Unable to achieve their goal,
they experience stress.
In order to relieve the stress the individuals violate the "goals" defined important by society or they
violate the "means" to achieve those goals. Note that individuals approach the means-ends
discrepancy in different ways.
Merton argues that poor people, who cannot achieve goals determined worthy by the dominant
society, use illegitimate means to achieve legitimate goals. Society defines success through the
ownership of material possessions such as cars or color TVs. The individual, however, cannot find
legitimate means, like a job, to finance that TV. The next course of action for the individual is to use
illegitimate means, like stealing, to get that TV.
People from the middle-class, however, are less inclined to steal. They have more at stake in the
system. A person from the middle-class who steals may suffer greater criticism compared with a poor
person who steals the same TV. When people from the middle-class experience discrepancies
between goals and opportunities, they tend to use illegitimate goals while using conventional means.
A response by a middle-class person may be to continue to "work hard," but deny that they need a
new home or color TV.
Merton presents the following typology of Deviance. According to Merton, people conform to either
the opportunities and goals defined by society or they engage in four types of deviance:
II. Merton's Typology
Conformity: The individual conforms to the dominant culture. Here the individual experiences no
problem in terms of goals and the means that society provides to achieve those goals. There is,
therefore, no need to engage in deviance to obtain goals deemed worthy by society.
A. Innovation
Innovators are people who accept the goals of society. For some reason, like poverty, they cannot
achieve societies' goals by legitimate means. They have to use illegitimate means such as stealing.
B. Ritualism
People who ritualize have similar problems that the innovator experiences, but for ritualists the
individual rejects the goals, but accepts the means. The individual may, for example, choose to work
hard knowing that he or she is not going to achieve the goals that society defines as worthy because
they do not get paid enough.
C. Retreatism
People who are retreatists reject both the means and goals of society. Drug addicts and vagrants are
examples of people who retreat.
D. Rebellion
The individual rejects the culture (values, goals, norms). These individuals pursue alternative
cultures. Included in this group are revolutionaries and some gangs.
III. Critiques of Merton's Typology
Many functionalist arguments, like the ones presented above, are easy to critique because their
positions are usually very rigid and simplistic. They assume that what exists and is dominant is
correct.
1. Functionalists assume that people who are not a part of the dominant culture automatically use
the dominant culture as their point of reference. Note that functionalists define legitimate and
illegitimate from a middle-class point of view.
2. Even if we accept the middle-class point of reference, Merton assumes that people who do not
have access to goals by legitimate means automatically have access by illegitimate means.
How do you steal a color TV? Criminal activity is also a skilled profession. An individual does
not just wake up one morning and say to him or herself: "I think I'll rob a TV store today!"
3. Merton assumes that people who have access to legitimate means and goals automatically
use legitimate means and goals. The drug "problem" in middle-class high schools
demonstrates that people who have access to legitimate means still engage in deviance.
Another example that contradicts Merton's claims is the large number of middle-class
teenagers who shoplift merchandise at shopping malls. They do not engage in this activity
because they do not have access to means and/or goals. They shoplift because their life is
boring.
4. There is also a problem with cause and effect. We assume that because a person cannot
achieve legitimate goals in society that he automatically turns to deviance (like drug use).
Perhaps the cause and effect travel in the opposite direction. The individual may get into
drugs, which in turn blocks their access to legitimate goals in society (via drug tests).
5. Finally, when an individual cannot achieve legitimate goals, Merton assumes failure with
reference to the person engaging in the deviance. This assumption is misplaced. If someone is
a successful "hustler," how can we say that person is a failure? He or she is achieving
something illegitimately, which means that the individual must have to work extra hard to be a
success at his or her deviant profession.
VII. Social Disorganization
and the Chicago School
In the early and mid-1900s the Chicago school emerged and shifted the emphasis away from
individual pathology to social structure. It represented an attempt to uncover the complex relationship
between deviance and neighborhood. The Chicago School discovered the highest rates of deviance
in neighborhoods that were considered transitional in that there was a lot of in-0 and out-migration.
According to the Chicago perspective, entire neighborhoods had become disorganized.
The transitional neighborhood where one would expect to find deviance according to the Chicago
school has the following characteristics:
1. They are neighborhoods where immigrants first came.
2. The population is geographically unstably. There is rapid movement of populations into and out
of the transitional neighborhood.
3. The transitional neighborhoods contain a variety of racial and ethnic groups.
4. Population density is very high.
5. Poverty
6. Low levels of education.
A. Gangs and the transitional neighborhood
Frederick Thrasher found a greater number of gangs in transitional neighborhoods than in more
stable neighborhoods. He noted that the gang is a social creation. The gang is the way people
organize themselves to cope with disorganized neighborhoods. The gang functions in two ways. First,
it offers a substitute for what society fails to give. Second, it provides relief from suppression and
distasteful living conditions. In this respect the gang fills a gap and affords an escape at the same
time.
B. A Critique of the Chicago School
There is a bias associated with the Chicago school perspective. "Disorganization" uses middle-class
points of view.
1. Research that followed the Chicago school found that, in fact, ghetto neighborhoods
demonstrate a lot of organization. The kind of organization found in poor neighborhoods, however, is
simply different from that found in middle-class neighborhoods.
Example: The Role of the Church in Black Communities.
2. Furthermore, many of the activities viewed as deviant in poor communities, were also committed
in middle-class suburban areas.
VIII. Interactionist Perspective:
Differential Association
Differential association is the first of two Interactionist perspectives. Goode (1997:87-90) contends
that Edwin Sutherland's Differential Association Theory is one of the more important theories in the
study of deviance. It arose as a critique to those theories that sought biological explanations for
deviance. According to differential association theory, people learn to be deviant (see Henslin,
1999:198-99).
Goode (1997) maintains that one learns deviance the same as one learns to brush their teeth. People
learn to be deviant by associating with people who are deviant. Criminal knowledge, skills, values,
traditions, and motives are passed on by word of mouth.
A. Differential Association: Priority and Intensity:
People develop deviant life styles when they deferentially associate with people who support norm
violations. It is not especially necessary for people to associate with actual criminals, all that is
needed is that criminal definitions are common.
1. Priority
The earlier in life that one is exposed to deviant attitudes, the greater the chance the individual will
learn and internalize those attitudes.
2. Intensity
The more one associates with deviants, the greater the chance the individual will develop deviant
attitudes and skills.
B. A Critique of Differential Association
As with all perspectives, this one has it pet biases. In this case, the critique centers on the proposition
that deviance is learned. Not all deviance can be accounted for using this assumption.
1. Some individuals, in fact, create deviance anew.
2. Certain types of crime (or deviance) do not fit the differential association pattern. Crimes
of passion are a good example. Also, upper-class crimes may fit here. Wartime black
market activities may also fit.
3. Further, many people are exposed to deviance, but are generally law abiding.
Illegitimate Opportunity Structure
In order to be a successful at anything, one has to have opportunity. In order to be a
successful teacher, one has to have access to college and teaching opportunities.
One might call access to college and teaching opportunity, a legitimate opportunity.
In order to be a successful criminal, one has to have an "opportunity" to engage in
crime. A person cannot just decide to be a criminal. He/she would be a miserable
failure because he/she does not have contacts. Henslin (2004:149) notes that in poor
neighborhoods, people have an unusually high access to illegitimate opportunities
to engage in robbery, theft, drug dealing, etc.

IX. Interactionist Perspective:

Labeling Theory
Henslin (2004:144) argues that labeling theory focuses in the names and reputations of names or
reputations given to people when they engage in certain types of behavior. Kendall
(1998:196)argues that "delinquents and criminals are people who have been successfully labeled as
such by others."

Moral Entrepreneurs
The labeling, according to Howard Becker, is done by moral entrepreneurs. They are
people who use their own views of right and wrong to establish rules and label others as
deviant. Kendall (1998:196) contends that the process of labeling is "directly related to the
power and status of the people who do the labeling and those who are being labeled."
Labeling theory calls attention to two kinds of deviance.
A. Primary Deviance
This refers to the act of breaking a rule.
B. Secondary Deviance
Henslin (2004:146) notes that sometimes people become more deviant as a result of being labeled as
deviant. This happens because the label becomes a part of the person's self-concept.
Secondary deviance is the process that occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant
accepts that new identity and continues the deviant behavior (Kendall, 1998:196).
According to Henslin (2004:146), labels open and close doors. Once a person is labeled as deviant,
often that person is forced to have almost exclusive contact with other deviants.

Saints and the Roughnecks

Under the topic of the power of labeling, Henslin (2004:146) provides a study where a
group of troubled kids are labeled as Saints and Roughnecks. The Saints were treated
positively and none had future arrest records while the Roughnecks were treated as if they
were degenerates, and later on experienced numerous problems with the police.
X. Conflict Theory: Deviance as
Acts Condemned by the Powerful
The community defines deviance. People, as they interact, define what is appropriate and what is not.
Some people in the community have more power than other to define deviance. People who occupy
high positions within economic and political sectors are in a better position to determine what laws are
enacted and to enforce their definitions of deviance.
The upper class is in a better position to determine what crimes are seen as serious and they tend to
point to problems associated with the lower classes. Organizations with financial backing are better
equipped to present its impressions of deviance.
See: White-Collar Crime
Bibliography
Eitzen, D. Stanley and Maxine Baca-Zinn
1986 Social Problems. (3rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1989 Social Problems. (4rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1992 Social Problems. (5rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1994 Social Problems. (6rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1997 Social Problems. (7rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Goode, Erich
1997 Deviant Behavior (5th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Henslin, James M.
1999 Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (4rd Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2004 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (5th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2006 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (6th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2008 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (7th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Kendall, Diana
1998 Social Problems in a Diverse Society. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Kornblum, William
1988 Sociology. Harcourt Brace.
Thrasher, Frederic Milton
1963 The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

he concept of white-collar crime draws attention to definitions of deviance which are determined by
the powerful. Edwin Sutherland initially coined the term "white-collar crime" in order to point out
weaknesses in typical crime theory that considered social pathology as the primary explanation
behind criminal behavior. White-collar crime refers to crimes that are committed by "respectable
people" during the course of their occupation. Crimes which are considered white-collar include
embezzling, price fixing, insider buying, fraud, falsification of expense accounts (or other records),
and theft of materials. This category of crime casts doubt on the notion that poverty breads crime.
I. Types of White-Collar Crime
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:117) call attention to two types of white-collar crime.
A. Occupational Crime
Occupational crime occurs when crimes are committed to promote personal interests. Crimes that
fall into this category include altering books by accountants and overcharging or cheating clients by
lawyers.
B. Organizational or Corporate Crime
A much more costly type of white collar crime occurs when corporate executives commit criminal acts
to benefit their company. There are a variety of corporate crimes that include
• the creation of inferior products,
 • pollution,
• price fixing.
• tobacco companies that add nicotine to cigarettes
• when companies advertise food as "lite" when it has as many calories as regular food.
II. The Cost Of White-Collar Crime
The dollar loss attributed to white-collar crimes, according to Sutherland, is probably greater than the
dollar loss from all other types of crimes. For example, the American business community lost $50
billion in 1980 to white-collar crime. This was nearly 10 times more than the monetary value of all
forms of street crimes (from Eitzen, 1986:426).
III. The Goals of White-Collar Crime: Profit And Political
Power
Money is not the only motive for engaging in white-collar crime. Often political power is the goal. In
the 1950s and 1960s, when the FBI illegally broke into offices of left-wing political organizations,
enhancing power was the objective, not money (see Coleman and Cressey, 1984:416). The entire
Watergate affair was oriented toward enhancing power.
IV. Murder By Neglect
White-collar crime can describe situations where companies or individuals knowingly use
substandard building material, market untested drugs, or knowingly (and illegally) pollute the
environment. Neglect of worker safety requirements may also be considered white-collar crime. Every
year in the U.S. between 120,000 and 200,000 people die from work related illness and 14,000 die
from on-the-job accidents (Charon, 1986:334).
Many occupational deaths are a result of organizational negligence. Chemical companies, coal
mines, and asbestos operations represent organizations that experience high rates of death while
organizations make profit.
• Remember the Dioxin that was sprayed on streets of Times Beach, Missouri?
• Remember Love Canal?
• How about the Ford Pintos, which exploded upon suffering rear end collisions (see Ralph
Nader's Unsafe At Any Speed).
In all cases, the companies involved were aware of the consequences of their actions.
In the case of Dioxin, the deadly effects are well documented. Dioxin is one of the most toxic
substances known to human beings. Three ounces can kill one million people. At Love Canal, the
Hooker Chemical Company dumped 200 tons of chemical waste that contained 130 pounds of Dioxin
(Eitzen, 1986:96). In the case of the Pinto, the company failed to recall cars even after the problem
relating to the position of the Pinto's gas tank was well documented. Ford found it more profitable to
pay settlements after accidents occurred than to recall the Pinto for repairs. Deaths that result from
corporate neglect should be considered "murder by neglect," but white-collar crime is not seen in the
same light as street crime.
V. Penalties For White-Collar Crime
The difference in how we respond to white-collar crime and "regular" crime is dramatic. If an
individual shot and killed another individual with a hand gun, the death penalty would be considered.
What happens when people are killed because a contractor uses substandard building material?
• Remember the Hyatt House disaster in Kansas City?
As a result of differences in perceptions between white-collar crime and regular crime, the accident in
Kansas City was seen as a misfortune while an individual who shoots another individual is seen as a
murderer. White-collar criminals almost never go to jail.
• Former Vice President Spiro Agnew was never sentenced for bribery and tax evasion.
• President Nixon received a full pardon for his part in the planning of the Watergate burglary, as
well as its cover up.
• Oliver North became a hero while acknowledging that he lied to Congress.
 • Reagan vetoed the Ethics in Government Bill in November 1988. His spokesperson said "it
was bad politics, but good government."
• Let's also not forget the 25 deaths that resulted at Hamlet, North Carolina's Emmett Roe
chicken plant. The owners had locked all the exits. The owner, who ordered the doors locked,
was sentenced to 19 years and will be paroled in 2 to 6 years.
Incarceration rates dramatize the differential perceptions of white-collar crime compared to other
types of crime. According to the American Bar Association (ABA),
• 91 percent of those convicted of bank robberies go to jail while only 17 percent of those
convicted of embezzlement of bank funds go to jail.
• Only five percent of people suspected of committing white-collar crimes were convicted. Only
a small percent of those convicted actually went to jail. The fact that Oliver North was seen as
a hero despite admitting to Congress that he lied about Iran-Contra.
• When building contractors use substandard material which causes injury and death, fines
result rather than jail time. No one went to jail as a result of the Hyatt Disaster in Kansas City.
Such statistics are indeed peculiar given that the average dollar loss that results from street crime is
much less than the dollar loss experienced from white-collar crime. In Florida, for example, street
crime amounted to $35 per crime while the average loss to white-collar criminal activities was
$621,000 (data is from Eitzen, 1986:427).
The following two examples demonstrate the costs of white-collar crime, as well as the leniency that
white-collar criminals experience from the legal system.
"Jack L Clark's Nursing Home Construction Company was founded guilty of a gigantic
stock fraud that bilked shareholders of $200 million. $10 million of this swindled money
allegedly went for Clark's personal use, and prosecutors accused him of hiding another $4
million as well. Clark apologized to the court, pleaded guilty to one count (out of sixty-five),
and was sentenced to one year in prison, eligible for parole after four months, with no fine"
(from Eitzen, 1986:427).
"C. Arnolt Smith, Chairman of U.S. National Bank, entered a plea of no contest to charges
of conspiracy, misapplication of bank funds, filing false statements, and making false
entries in his bank books. His case involved one of the largest swindles in American history
(some estimates are as high as $250 million). His penalty for this crime was a $30,000 fine,
to be paid at the rate of $100 a month over twenty-five years -- with no interest" (Eitzen,
1986:427).

VI. Why Don't White-Collar Criminals Go To Jail?

Clearly a double standard exists between white-collar crimes and street crimes. The following are
some reasons that explain why white-collar criminals are not more rigorously pursued.
A. The Best Lawyers
White-collar criminals have money and can therefore afford the best legal advice.
B. Favorable Laws
Laws are generally written in favor of the white-collar criminal. People who commit white-collar crimes
are sometimes the same people who are in a position to see to it that their crimes are not defined too
negatively.
C. Individual Perception
Whereas the impact of white-collar criminals on the nation is great, the cost to each individual is
small. White-collar crimes do not impact individuals with the same intensity as when one individual is
victimized by a petty criminal.
D. Little Police Effort
Virtually no police effort goes into fighting white-collar crime. Enforcement is many times put in the
hands of government agencies (like the Environmental Protection Agency - EPA). Often these
agencies can act only as watchdogs and point the finger when an abuse is discovered.
E. Difficult to Assign Blame
Assigning blame in white-collar crime cases can be difficult. For example, pollution may be the result
of corporate neglect, but corporation cannot be sent to jail. Corporations could be heavily fined (a
viable option), but the social impact of severely punishing an institution that may provide jobs to
hundreds of people, as well as supply social necessities, may be more detrimental than the initial
violation of the law.

Bibliography
Appelbaum, Richard P. and William J. Chambliss
1997 Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New York: Longman.
Charon, Joel
1986 Sociology: A Conceptual Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Coleman James and Donald Cressey
1984 Social Problems, (2nd Ed). New York: Harper & Row.
Eitzen, D. Stanley and Maxine Baca-Zinn
1986 Social Problems. (3rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Reiman, Jeffrey
1998 The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.

I. What is Crime
Robertson (1989:123) maintains that a crime is "an act that contravenes a law." Generally speaking,
deviant behavior becomes a crime when it is too disruptive and uncontrollable via informal sanctions.
Like all forms of deviance, crime is a relative matter. Most people, however, in any given society tend
to view the difference between criminal and noncriminal behavior as being absolute.
II. Sources of Crime Information
Most of our information concerning crime comes from the FBI's "Uniform Crime Report (UCR)." The
UCR includes crimes such as murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, auto theft,
and arson.
The UCR is criticized sometimes because of the information it does not report . It, for example,
includes only offenses that are known to the police and as many as two out of three crimes are not
reported to the police. UCR statistics under estimate the crime rate because of underreporting,. Due
to this weakness, many criminologists prefer to use the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).
The NCVS asks people whether they have experienced a crime. It may come closer to documenting
the full extent of criminal behavior in the United States.
The UCR is also criticized because it tends to focus on crimes committed by the poor. Reiman
(1998), for example, argues that the UCR does not do a very good job of cataloguing white collar
crime. Reiman (1998) contends that this is especially unfortunate because white collar crime cost the
American public more than street crime.
III. Types of Crime
Four categories of crime are discussed below. They are violent crime, crimes against property,
victimless crimes, and white-collar crime.
A. Crimes of Violence
Americans fear crimes of violence the most. During the 1970s the rate of violent crime rose
dramatically. The increase in crime subsided during the early 1980s, but it began to rise again during
the later part of the 1980s. The rate of violent crime is, once again, falling in the latter part of the
1990s.
Many people fear murder at the hands of a complete stranger, but the data demonstrate that 57
percent of murder victims knew their killers. Only 20 percent of murders fall under the category of
street crime.
The United States is the most violent society of all industrialized nations. The U.S. has the highest
murder rate in the world. A single American city like Chicago or Detroit has murder rates higher than
the entire country of England.
Hand Guns are the weapons used in 44 percent of the 20,000 murders that occurred in the US. The
murder rate for handgun homicide in 1980 in the United States was 77 times greater than it is in
England or Japan (Robertson, 1989:124).
The primary cause of deaths by hand guns is the wide spread access to hand guns. Ordinary citizens
often claim that they need a gun to protect themselves. Unfortunately, many handgun related murders
occur because of the presence of the guns. Only 2 percent of all hand gun slaying occur because one
person was trying to protect themselves. The remainder of handgun related deaths was homicides,
suicides, or accidental deaths. In most of these cases the victims were family members, friends, or
acquaintances.
B. Crimes against Property
Crimes against property include crimes where criminals steal, or vandalize property, that belongs to
someone else. These crimes are far more numerous than violent crimes. One occurs about every
three seconds. Like violent crimes, property related crimes rose dramatically during the 1970s and
leveled off during the 1980s. One possible explanation calls attention to the age structure of the
United States. Data show that young people between 16 and 25 years old commit by far the most
crimes against property. As the baby boom generation ages, it is logical to expect the crime rate to
decline.
C. Crime without Victims
Presumably no one suffers from victimless crimes. Crime without victims, however, is something of a
misnomer. The assumption is there are no injuries caused by these crimes. Robertson (1989:125)
points out, however, that the individuals who violate the law may, in fact, suffer. Perhaps the term
"victimless crime" refers to the fact that there are no victims to press charges.

Examples of "Victimless Crimes"

Prostitution, Gambling, Illegal Drug Use, Bookies, vagrancy, and prohibited sexual
acts among consenting adults.
These crimes are "morality crimes." They are very difficult to control because there is no victim to
press charges. Those who engage in the activity regard the law as inappropriate, not themselves.
Another issue regarding victimless crimes is that they consume an enormous amount of police effort.
Further, they stimulate activity in organized crime because "victimless crimes" usually involve
something desirable where large profits can be made (e.g., drugs or sex).
D. White-Collar Crime
White-Collar Crime "
For information on White Collar Crime see "
IV. Who are the Criminals?
FBI crime statistics (as presented in Reiman, 1998, Robertson, 1989) indicate that the typical criminal
is:
A. Young
People under 25 years old commit nearly half of all crimes.
B. Male
Men were four times as likely to commit crimes as females.
C. Urban
People arrested were much more likely to be from cities as opposed to small towns
D. Black
29% of those arrested were black (they make up only 12% of the total population.)
V. The True Character of Crime is Masked
Many scholars (e.g., Robertson, 1989:126, Reiman, 1998, Barkan, 1997) maintain that these
statistics distort the true character of the criminal element in the US. There are three reasons for this.
A. Most Crimes Go Unreported
The actual crime rate is nearly three times higher that the reported crime rate.
B. Most Crime Data Are Biased
It does not concentrate on upper-class crime.
C. Most Crimes Go Undetected
The largest group of criminals is, in fact, those that go undetected by the criminal justice system.
Self-report studies reveal that nearly 100 percent of Americans have committed crimes. "The typical
criminal is not the typical criminal at all, but rather the one who typically gets arrested, prosecuted,
and convicted" (1989:127).
D. Who Goes to Jail?
Robertson (1989:127-8) points out there are a variety of stages that an offender must go through
before finally going to jail. Of all the crimes committed, most are not even reported to the police. For
reported crimes, few lead to arrest. If an arrest occurs, the chance is less than 50 percent that a
conviction will result. Finally, it is questionable that the convicted criminal will go to prison. Out of
1000 felonies, only 3 individuals serve more than a year in prison (see the chart below).

Example: Who goes to Jail?

Out of 1000 felonies committed ...
540 are reported to the police
of those, 65 lead to arrests
of those arrests, 36 are convicted
of those convicted, 17 are sentenced to custody
of those, 3 are sentenced to over a year in prison
Source: (Kornblum, 1988:219)

VI. Selecting the Criminal

Selecting the criminal explains why the prison population has the socio-demographic characteristics
that it has. The prison population does not look like the population of people who commit crimes.
A. The Political Process
The definition of which behavior is considered as criminal begins in political bodies such as city
councils, state legislatures, or Congress (see Reiman, 1998). These political bodies pass laws
against certain kinds of behavior. Legislative bodies decide penalties for violating the laws they pass.
B. Selection by the Victim
Two out of three crimes are never reported to the police. They victim makes a decision whether to
report. Robertson (1989:127) contends there are two factors which determine whether or not a given
offender moves to the next stage.
1. The seriousness of the offense. 
2. The status of the offender. 
With reference to the seriousness of the offense, petty crimes and white-collar crimes seldom come
to the attention of the police. The social status of the offender has great impact on who the police
arrest and who ultimately goes to jail. Most Juveniles in the arrest statistics are lower-class males.
This does not mean that lower-class males commit the most crimes. They are simply the ones
arrested.
C. Selection by the Police
The police do not arrest everyone they encounter in an illegal act. The police, in fact, have great
discretion when it comes to whether to arrest or not. Police tend to arrest people from the lower class
because they perceive them as bad characters.

Who Do the Police Ticket?

Piliavan and Brair (1964) road with police in a West Coast town. They point out that
the police encounter many minor violations of the law. Those violators with bad
character were the ones arrested. Race, dress and demeanor were important
determinants. The police arrested 2/3's of those individuals who were defiant,
nonchalant, and uncooperative. On the other hand, when the individuals stopped
were polite and cooperative, only 5 percent of those encountered lead to arrests.

D. Selection in the Courts

1. Selection by Attorneys: Plea Bargains
Selecting occurs as well in the court system. Court officials encouraged poor people to plea-bargain,
who cannot afford attorneys, in 90 percent of the cases (see Chambliss, 1973). They would plead
guilty to lesser offenses.
2. Selection by Judges
Judges also take part in the selection procedure. Robertson (1989:128) points out that judges
perceive higher class offenders (white-collar criminals) as having suffered enough through damage to
their reputation and perhaps loss of employment.
VII. Trends in Crime
The Tables discussed below are explored in the first of three group projects Introduction to Sociology
students pursue this semester. For in-depth details of what students should learn from the tables,
consult the guidelines in Data Project 1
Is crime increasing? Are crime rates going up or down? What is the difference? It is possible for one
to increase while the other decreases.
Determining the number of crimes is simple. All one needs to do is visit the UCR. Rates: A crime rate
refers to the numbers of crimes per 100,000 people. It is possible for one to increase while the other
decreases.
Table #1 indicates that the overall number of crimes in the United States increases from 11,349,700
in 1976 to 12,431,400 in 1985. The overall crime rate, however, fell from 5287 per 100,000 people in
1976 to 5207 per 100,000 in 1985.
The scenario in the example above happens because of population increase. There are more people
so there are more crimes. While numbers are increasing due to population growth, the numbers of
crimes experienced by every 100,000 people declines. People at large are committing fewer crimes in
1985 than in 1976. One should, therefore, be very careful when listening to the "sound bites" of
politicians as they critique crime in America. (See: Crime History by the Numbers)
Even if one uses rates, determining whether crime is increasing or decreasing depends, in part, on
which accounting period one uses. The Overall crime rate in 1995 is down compared to 1994. It is,
however, still higher when compared to 1977.
One should also pay attention to the geographic area one is located in. Americans have been fed a
steady diet of crime-fear for decades . Americans see nightly stories of drive-by shooting and drug-
related gang murders. One is not told, however, that much of that kind of crime occurs in a only few
neighborhoods in small parts of cities. Should one be afraid of crime if one lives in North Dakota?
(See: State Crime)
Even if individuals live in a large metropolitan area in the United States, they may be safer than they
suspect. Large cities are notorious for crime. Rural and small town Americans are, likewise, perceived
as safe. These perceptions, however, are not necessarily supported by the facts. (See: City Crime)
VIII. Structural Components of Crime
What causes a change in crime rates? Are crime-rates most affected by expenditures on law
enforcement? There is an impression among the voting public that crime is on the rise in the United
States and, therefore, we need to spend more money for more police and more prisons. Perhaps
crime rates are more influenced by structural features like performance of the economy or
demographic changes (see Kornblum, 1988:207).
Even if the voting public accepts the fact that crime rates have decreased, there is a tendency to view
such declines as a result of increased public spending on law enforcement. Often, the drive for
increased spending on crime prevention is related to political leaders, who have ties to larger
spending programs in the criminal justice system.
Below are some structural features that cause crime rates to fluctuate which have nothing to do with
the criminal justice system.
A. Demographic Change
One component is demographic change associated with changes in the age structure of the
population.
WHO COMMITS THE MOST CRIMES --- THE YOUNG
The baby boomers have long passed from being young. Baby boomers are now over thirty years old.
There are fewer young people today [as a percent of the total population] than there were 15 to 20
years ago. Since young people commit the most crimes, it is logical to expect that crime rates will
drop as the population ages. (See William Julius Wilson for a demographic analysis on the African
American community.)
B. Rapid Shifts in Population
There are other components that cause variation in crime rates. Rapidly growing cities have trouble
keeping their police forces large enough to cope with the expanding population. One should not forget
the problems associated with the "transitional neighborhood" as a cause of deviance.
C. The Condition of the Economy
There are also links to economic performance. As the economy fluctuates, so does the crime rate. It
makes sense that when the economy falters. Crime rates increase as those removed from the
legitimate economy seek less-legitimate avenues in the informal or shadow economy in order to
survive.
IX. Corrections
Recidivism
How successful are Prisons in rehabilitating criminals? Not VERY! Three-fourths of
the released criminals are re-arrested within four years. Recidivism refers to ex-
offenders who are arrested for another criminal offense once they have been released
from jail.
Death Penalty and Homicide Rates
Do states that have the death penalty have lowered homicide rates? NO! There is no
difference between the states that execute and those that do not.
The following material explores four philosophies regarding corrections. Why do we put people in
prison? What are our goals of incarcerating people?
A. Retribution
Robertson (1989:129) contends that one reason for putting people in prison is to punish the offender.
The state is placed in the position of "applying revenge on behalf of the victim." This is the "eye for an
eye" philosophy.
B. Deterrence
Most of our police forces operate under a philosophy called deterrence theory. Deterrence theory
contends that if the public knows the consequences of deviance, many individuals will not commit a
crime. "Through punishment, corrections serve to deter the offender from deviating again and it
scares others who might be tempted into crime" (Robertson, 1989:129). There are three aspects of
deterrence theory. In order for deterrence to be successful each aspect should be true.
1. The individual has to know what the law states. Without clear knowledge of the law, the individual
cannot know he/she is in the process of violating the law.  
2. The potential offender must know what the punishment is. How tough will the punishment be? It makes
a difference to a potential bank robber when planning a holdup whether the penalty is 1 year or 20
years in prison. Likewise, is a white-collar criminal is relatively sure that they will get a light punishment,
they might be more inclined to embezzle from a bank or to use substandard building material.  
3. Will an offender receive punishment? If punishment is certain, then the philosophy of deterrence comes
closer to achieving its goals. If, on the other hand, one is relatively sure that they will not be punished,
deterrence is not achieved.  
4. Critique of Deterrence Theory: The current system of criminal justice demonstrates none of these
characteristics. The law is too complex, the severity of punishment depends on the jurisdiction (city,
state, federal), and it depends on social class. 
C. Incapacitation
This philosophy seeks to prevent the offender from committing further crimes. Some criminals are
seen as not being responsible for their actions. None-the-less ordinary citizens do not want them on
the streets. Mental illness is sometimes seen as an explanation for criminal behavior. Often mentally
ill are not sent to prison, but are still "incapacitated" in hospitals or similar institutions.
D. Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation involves teaching inmates silks and trades that will, hopefully, give them a chance to
become law-abiding citizens once they are released from prison. The correction system might "serve
to reform the offender by providing skills and attitudes that make return to a law-abiding life possible"
(Robertson, 1989:129). Reiman (1998) argues that our criminal justice system fails if we release
people, who have paid for their crime, with so legitimate skills. The ex-felon is likely to return to crime
with no other legitimate options at his or her disposal.
 
Bibliography
Barkan, Steven E.
1997 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kornblum, William
1988 Sociology in a Changing World. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Reiman, Jeffrey
1998 The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.
Robertson, Ian
1989 Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishing.
UCR
1995 Uniform Crime Report.

PART 3: Inequality
The Arithmetic of Inequality
Jimmy is a second grader. He pays attention in school, and he enjoys it. School records
show that he is reading slightly above grade level and has a slightly better than average IQ.
Bobby is a second grader across town. He also pays attention in class and enjoys school,
and his test scores are similar to Jimmy's.
Bobby is a safe bet to enter college (more than four times as likely as Jimmy) and a good
bet to complete it -- at least twelve times as likely as Jimmy. Bobby will probably have at
least four years more schooling than Jimmy. He is twenty seven times as likely as Jimmy to
land a job which by his late forties will pay him an income in the top tenth of all incomes.
 Jimmy has about one chance in eight of earning a median income (Bassis, 1991:216).

I. Basic Definitions
A. Life Chances
Life chances refer to one's access to resources. Life chances can refer to one's ability to get food
and shelter. It also refers to access to social institution such as health care, education, the
government, and the law (to mention a few). Social class affects one's life chances across a broad
spectrum of social phenomenon from health care, to educational attainment, to participation in the
political process, to contact with the criminal justice system.
B. What is Social Stratification?
Social stratification refers to the division of a society into layers (or strata) whose occupants have
unequal access to social opportunities and rewards. People in the top strata enjoy power, prosperity,
and prestige that are not available to other members of society; people in the bottom strata endure
penalties that other members of society escape. In a stratified society, inequality is part of the social
structure and passes from one generation to the next.
C. What is a Class?
People who occupy the same layer of the socioeconomic hierarchy are known as a social class
(Bassis, 1990:216). According to Henslin (2004:192), a social class is a large group of people who
rank closely to one another in wealth, power, and prestige.
II. Stratification Systems
A. Caste: Ascribed Status
A caste system is a rigid system of inequality. Caste position is strictly defined. There is no social
mobility from one caste to another. Caste relationships are relatively conflict free. The lack of conflict
can be explained, in part, because of the powerful position on the upper caste and, in part, by an
ideology that justifies caste position. There is little deviance on the part of the lower castes because
of fear of harsh punishment.
A well-known society with a caste system is India. People are born into a caste. Caste membership
determines your occupation, social interaction, power, and education. No amount of achievement will
change your caste position.

Example: India's Caste System

Brahman  Teachers and religious people

Kshatriya  Warriors  

Viashia  Merchants and craftsman

Shudra  Laborers and farmers

These people work with the dead, both animal and human. They are
Untouchable 
undertakers, butchers, and leather workers.

Some argue that race and gender sometimes functions like a caste system in the United States.
People are born with their race and their gender.
1. Endogamy
In a caste society, people have to marry within their own caste.
2. Ritual Pollution
In caste societies many members guard against ritual pollution. Contact between members of the
upper caste and the lower caste is inappropriate. Such contact is seen by the members of the upper
caste as unclean. In the Indian caste system upper caste individuals avoid even the shadow of an
untouchable. The shadow of an untouchable's house is polluting to members of the upper castes.
B. Class: Achieved Status
The class system is an open form of stratification based primarily on economic criteria. The
boundaries between classes are more fluid than with the caste system. Individuals can move around
within the class system. Their status can improve or decline. Class membership depends, at least in
part, on characteristics which the individual can control. Keep in mind, however, that people tend to
be born into class structure. Change is difficult. Historic conditions determine social class structure.
The ideology of the dominant culture perpetuates class structure. The type of class structure which
allows the greatest mobility is generally a modern industrial society.
C. A Classless Society
In a classless society there are no economically based strata.
1. Soviet Union as an example
Not even the Soviet's claim to be a true Communist society. They only claim to be at the transition
phase between capitalism and socialism.
III. Perspectives on Class
A. Stratification: A Functionalist View
Functionalist see the class structure is beneficial to American society. Furthermore, class structure is
necessary. Functionalist concern themselves with how a society can encourage the most qualified
people to do the most important jobs. Class structure facilitates this end.
1. Class structure provides a competitive arena
A class structure allows the best rise to the top of the social strata.
2. Class structure provides a motivating force
Fluid class structure provides motivation and an arena for individual achievement. It offers prizes that
challenge people to work hard.
3. Class structure provides opportunity
Americans believe that through hard work, all people have a crack at getting to the top. The wealth of
the few is the goal of every American. Of course, there is poverty. Poverty, however, is simply the
result of individuals not trying hard enough.
B. Stratification: A Conflict View
Conflict theory argues that the basis of social stratification is found in conflict over some kind of scare
resources. Conflict theory contends that stratification is not necessary, but is maintained to safeguard
the ruling class's privileges. Those who find social class beneficial are those who have "made it" in
the system.
Rather than stratification being a fluid system of upward and downward mobility based on ability, the
class system is actually characterized by institutional inequalities in income and wealth. Only on rare
occasions do Americans break through the class barrier. Usually break through occurs as a result of
a lucky "roll of the dice." Few people actually succeed at social advancement through sheer hard
work.

Marriage and Upward Mobility

Marriage is the quickest route out of poverty. Marriage out of poverty is no more than a
lucky roll of the dice. Generally, birth determines one's position in society. Rich fathers
have rich children while poor fathers have poor children. Changes in class position require
a complex mixture of luck, inheritance, and effort, and probably in that order of importance
(see Harrington, 1984).
Example: Lotteries

Poverty
Poverty in the United States "officially" refers to people who fall below the "official poverty line." In
 general, however, poverty is a complex subject that depends on not only official definitions, but on
the perspectives of people as well as the physical location of people. 
One common perspective on poverty is to compare the percentage (or rate) of people in poverty
from one group or another. When one explores rates of poverty, one is often directed toward the
high poverty rates of women with children (no husband present) or the high poverty rates
experienced by people of color. 
When one explores the actual numbers of poor people, one finds that the race of the majority of
poor people is white. Whites have a lower proportion of people in poverty than other racial groups,
but because there are so many more whites in U.S. society, their lower poverty rate still translates
into larger numbers of poor people. 
When one investigates poverty by age, one learns that children (under age 18) are most likely to be
poor. On the other hand, people who are 65 years old and older are least likely to be poor. (At
least this is the perspective based on the "official definition of poverty." Many of the elderly live
slightly above the poverty line so they are technically not poor, but they are still in need.) 
The Official Poverty Line
The poverty line, the official measure of poverty in the United States, is set at three times a
low-cost food budget. Henslin (2006:201) argues that in the 1960s, when the poverty line
was determined, poor people spent roughly a third of their income on food. In the U.S.,
families who earn less than three times the cost of food are considered "officially poor."
This status could influence the distribution of social welfare dollars from Washington.
The poverty rate refers to the percentage of people in the united states who fall below the
poverty line.
The entire Official poverty measure in inadequate. Currently, poor people spend no more
than a fifth of their budget on food. It one wanted to know the "real" level of poverty in
terms of 1960s standard, one should multiple the low-cost food budget by five, not three.
By, multiplying by three, the percentage of the population is grossly underestimated. As a
result of underestimating poverty, Washington makes fewer funds available to support poor
people.

C. A Synthesis of Functionalist and Conflict Perspectives on Class

1. Basic Resources
The basic resources needed for the maintenance of society are allocated in much the same way that
the functionalists argue. This is efficient. He contends that all societies do this to one degree or
another.
2. Surplus wealth
Surplus wealth is allocated in much the same way that the conflict theory predicts (i.e., through
exploitation and class struggle).
D. Social Mobility
Social mobility generally refers to the movement from one social class to another. There are several
ways to view social mobility in terms of class position.
1. Intergenerational Mobility
Intergenerational mobility refers to movement (up or down) the social hierarchy by family members.
An example here would be a family where the father is a trucker and the sibling becomes a doctor.
2. Exchange Mobility
Exchange mobility is where individuals change places with one another in the stratification system
For example, if 100 working-class people move upward on the class ladder and, at the same time,
100 middle class people experience downward mobility, sociologists would consider this to be an
example of exchange mobility (Henslin, 2004:209).
3. Structural Mobility
How fluid is the U.S. class-structure? Structural mobility occurs when the economic status of people
changes as a result of structural changes in the economy. The argument is sometimes made that the
U.S. has a very fluid class-structure. Many families have improved their class position over the past
100 years in the U.S. Does this mean that the U.S. has a fluid class structure or does something else
explain the apparent successes that people have with regards to improvements in their well-being?
When the structure itself changes, everyone's position changes. Structural change is an important
explanation for much of the recent improvement in the financial well being of many in American
society. As the U.S. became industrialized, the occupational structure itself was transformed.
Children, therefore, could not stay in the same occupational position as their parents.
a. The Changing Labor Structure
In 1900 17.9 percent of all laborers positions were white collar. By 1979 50.9 percent of all jobs were
in the white-collar sector. The percentage of people doing farm work on the other hand declined from
37.6 in 1900 to 2.8 percent in 1979. Children must, therefore, take jobs in sectors of the economy
other than that which their parents worked in (From Charon, 1986:326).
IV. Analysis of Class: Karl Marx
Karl Marx studied the forces that caused the misery of the working class in 19th Century Western
Europe. The student of Marx cannot forget that Marx is a historic figure. He wrote in the middle 1800
when social relations weresome what different from those found at the end of the 20th century. At the
time of Marx a handful of wealthy capitalist exploited a large and impoverished working class. For
Marx, ownership of the means of production was the primary factor that distinguished the different
classes under industrial capitalism. Farley (2000) contends that during the 1800s capitalism was
more exploitative than during any time in the last several hundred years.
A. What is a Social Class According to Marx?
In Marxist terminology, "a class consists of all the people who share a common relationship to the
means of production" (Robinson, 1989:172).
1. The bourgeoisie
Those people who control the means of production (whether that means factories or slaves or land)
make up the dominant class or the bourgeoisie.
2. The Proletariat
Those who work for the dominant class (slaves, peasants, industrial laborers)are the subordinate
class or the proletariat. This relationship is both unequal and exploitative in that the dominant class
takes unfair advantage of the subordinate class.
B. Surplus Wealth
How does inequality occur in the first place? The workers produce surplus wealth. Workers transform
raw material into finished products. The value of the finished product is greater than the cost of the
worker's labor and the cost of raw material. The workers, however, do not enjoy the surplus which
they have created. The owners of the means of production (factories) are able to seize the surplus for
their own benefits. Robertson (1989:172) contends that "this, in Marx's view, is the essence of
exploitation, and the main source of conflict between the classes throughout history." Marx would
argue that in an ideal economy, the workers would keep the surplus they have created as they
transform raw material into finished products.
C. Critiques of Marx
Several features of advanced capitalist society have thrown doubt on Marx's predictions.
1. What about the middle-class?
The existence of the middle class is problematic for Marx. Not only are the middle-class a large and
well-to-do class, they generally do not work for the owners of the means of production. They often
work for their fellow citizen (as state bureaucrats) or they are self-employed.
2. Large Corporations
Marx also did not predict the rise of large corporations which are owned by thousands of people and
which are controlled by salaried managers. Ownership and control of the means of production are no
longer the same thing.
3. Men and Women of Knowledge
In post industrial society ownership may not be the most important asset in the economy. Knowledge
of how the system works may be more important. Status accrues to people with knowledge.

Contradictory Class Locations

Marx roughly divided society into two classes: the workers and the owners of production.
He perceived these groups as having competing interests and not having much in common
with one another.
Erik Wright revised Marx's concept of social classes by suggesting that some people
simultaneously occupying more than one class. He contends that such people occupy
contradictory class positions. Many times people cross over. An individual can begin life as
a worker and later on, become a capitalist. That former worker surely has something in
common with the people he used to work with ... certainly much more so that the capitalist
who never "works (see Henslin, 2004:199)."

V. Analysis of Class: Max Weber

How does one determine social class? Often social class is thought of in terms of money and/or
wealth. For example, if one individual earns a million dollars per year while another individual earns
$3,000 per year, the first individual generally occupies a higher social position. It's important to note,
however, that social class does not have to refer to money and/or wealth exclusively. Drug dealers
may have a lot of money, but they are not members of an upper class.

Determining Social Class:

Socioeconomic Status (SES)
What is Socioeconomic Status (SES)?
Farley (2005:32) notes that nearly all societies tend to group themselves by socioeconomic
status. SES is a concept which is rather complex. The average citizen may tend to group
people according to simple criteria like income or wealth. SES is a more robust concept.
Socioeconomic status (SES) calls attention the complex nature of social class. It is
determined by an array of social and economic indicators. It is also subject to
interpretation form various perspectives.
1. Objective Measures
There are objective measures of social class. Henslin (1999:253) suggests that researches
can assign people to various social classes based objective criteria involving wealth,
power, and prestige. Some objective indicators can include occupation, educational level,
number of dependents, type of residence, infant mortality, and life expectancy rates.
2. Subjective Measures
There are also subjective measures. Typically, determining class from a subjective point of
view involves asking someone how they perceive their class position.
3. Reputational Measures
Finally, class can be determined using the reputational method (Henslin, 1999:253).
People identify an individual's social class based on their expert knowledge of their
individual's circumstances. The reputational method is limited to smaller communities,
where people are familiar with one another's reputation. People at each class level see
class differently. They, therefore, carry around different personal pictures of society's
classes. People see finer divisions at their own class level, but tend to lump together
people who occupy other class levels. For example, People at the top see several divisions
of people at the top while they see one large monolithic group of people at the bottom. On
the other hand, people at the bottom see several distinctions of poor people, but only one
group at the top -- the rich (Henslin, 1999:253).
Weber offers a multidimensional class model that incorporates three distinct entities: Economic
status (wealth), political status (power), and social status (prestige).
A. Wealth
Wealth consists of income and assets (property).
Robertson (1989:180) contends that, while the US is philosophically indebted to the notion that "all
men are created equal," the US is, in fact, a very stratified society. The US has the most inegalitarian
class structures in the industrialized world (see Long, 1993).
For the first century of nationhood in the US, a caste system was in place in the form of racial slavery.
Many of the familiar characteristics associated with the Indian caste system were in effect. Included in
America's caste system were endogamy and notions of ritual pollution. Blacks were not allowed in the
same restaurants, bathrooms, and buses as whites. Women also can be seen as occupying
secondary position in a caste system. Despite the professed commitment to human rights, the US
today contains 600,000 millionaires and 32 million people below the poverty line.

Who Controls Wealth in the U.S.?

Group  Percent of Households Percent of Wealth Range 

Super-Rich  0.5 % 35.1% 2.5 Million or more

Very-Rich  0.5% 6.7% 1.4 to 2.5 million
Rich  9.0% 29.9% $206,000 to 1.4 mil
The rest of us  90.0% 28.2% Less than $200,000

Source: Eitzen, 1988:257

1. Assets
Wolff (in Skolnick and Currie, 1997:99) describes assets as consisting of all forms of "financial wealth
such as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, life insurance savings, mutual fund shares and unincorporated
business; consumer durables like cares and major appliances; and the value of pension rights." Wolff
(1997:99) continues to say that from these sources, one should subtract liabilities such as "consumer
debt, mortgage balances, and other outstanding debt." The upper classes control a much greater
percentage of valuable assets than income. Robertson (1989:180) points out that in 1973 the bottom
fifth of Americans controlled only 0.2% of all assets while the top fifth control 76% of all assets.
Further, the assets controlled by the poor tend to depreciate (household items) over time while those
of the rich tend to appreciate (real estate and stocks).
2. Income
Appelbaum & Chambliss (1997:134) defines income as "the amount of money a person or household
earns in a given period of time (usually a year)." The gap between rich and poor is also very unequal
and it is increasing.

The Distribution of Income in Industrial Societies:

Household Income Per Capita
   Bottom Quintile  Top Quintile 
 UK, 1979  5.8 39.5
Germany, 1984  6.8 38.7

U.S., 1985  4.7 41.9

Sweden, 1981  8.0 36.9

Japan  8.7 37.5

Source: WDR, 1991:263

B. Power
Power is the ability to see that one's will is acted upon. Powerful people are able to mobilize
resources to achieve their goals despite resistance from others. Henslin (1999) argues that it is an
inevitable part of everyday life. Like wealth, power is concentrated in the hands of a few. Robertson
(1989:182) makes an interesting observation with regards to minorities gaining more political power.
He argues that just as Blacks, Hispanics, and Women are beginning to votes in their respective
interests, power is flowing away from public institutions and into the hands of giant bureaucracies and
influential private interest groups. Voters, after all, have only one of several possible means of
influencing decision makers, i.e., their vote.
C. Prestige
Prestige refers to the power to impress or influence. It differs from power in that it is based less on
political position. Prestige correlates with charisma. A prestigious person has a reputation based on
brilliance, achievements, or on character.
Robertson (1989:182) contends that there is much less stratification in terms of prestige in the United
States than there is in terms of wealth and power. He suggests that while prestige raking is obvious,
Americans treat each other remarkable well when compared to other countries.

Prestige Ratings of Occupations

in the United States:(1972-1982)
These are prestige ratings of 1 to 100 that average
Americans gave to various occupations.

Rank   Occupation Score

1 Physician 82

2.   College Professor 78

3.   Judge 76

4.   Lawyer 76

5.   Physicist 74

6.   Dentist 74

      

95   Waiter 20

96   Farm Laborer 18

97   Maid/Servant 18
 98   Garbage Collector 17

99   Janitor 17

100   Shoe shiner 9

Source: Robertson, 1989:174

VI. Maintaining Stratification

The United States has great inequality (See L.I.S. Chart). How is it possible that such an unequal
system can exist? Always, the majority are denied the wealth of a few. Revolutions, however, are rare
compared to all political activity. Two explanations seem to explain why revolutions are so rare. On
one hand, the dominant class controls resources. On the other hand, there is wide spread belief that
the rule of the upper class is legitimate.
Marx notes that social institutions tend to reflect the will of the dominant class. This does not mean
that the ruling class actually plots to control institutions.
A. Social Networks
The government does not conspire to control all wealth. The rich act in their common interests by
simply knowing each other and by sharing a common agenda.
B. Legitimacy
Many see the inequitable distribution of wealth at the natural outcome of hard work, perseverance,
and a little luck. Even the poor see the current distribution of wealth as legitimate (See Weber, 1968).
The masses view the given political economy as valid and justified.
C. Ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs which explain or justifies some actual or potential social arrangement
(See Robertson, 1989:176). An ideology is a belief structure that confers legitimacy on a social
system.
Example: A system of beliefs that justifies a social arrangement like slavery is an ideology (Henslin,
2004, 168).
1. False Consciousness
Robertson's (1989:176) definition is "a subjective understanding that does not correspond with the
objective facts of one's situation." Karl Marx would argue that workers experience false
consciousness when they mistakenly identify with the capitalists. The worker might believe that if he
only works hard enough, he might secure a better position in society. The worker might blame
poverty on laziness or lack if education. They may also hold minor positions in society, but still feel
like they have "made it." For example, a worker who has a small savings account and who owns a
few shares of stock might tend to think of themselves as an investor rather than as a worker.
Marx argues that the poor do not realize that their miseries are a shared phenomenon that results
from their oppressed status. Instead of blaming the system they blame their circumstances on fate,
an act of god, luck, or other factors beyond their control.
Henslin (2004:172) suggests that workers experience false consciousness when they identify with
capitalists.
2. Class Consciousness
Class consciousness refers to "an objective awareness of the lower stratum's common plights and
interests as an oppressed group." At this point they begin to question the legitimacy of the system.
They begin to build their own ideology which justifies and supports their class interests and
consequently seems revolutionary to the dominant stratum.
VII. Data Project #2
Data Project # 2
Socioeconomics on the Texas Border with Mexico
(See project guidelines)

VIII. Portraits of the Classes

The following material is taken from Charon (1986). The percentages are rough estimates.
A. Upper Class (1 percent of total population)
The upper-class consists of relatively few individuals and families (a small executive club) with great
wealth and great power in the economy. Generally the upper-class inherits their wealth. It comes in
the form of property and other assets. While this group does not have to work, they often serve on the
boards of directors of major corporations. From this vantage point, the upper-class occupies a
position from which they can have great impact on the course of world history. The upper-class has a
certain life style in which individuals are careful to socialize only with the "right crowd."
B. Upper Middle-Class (10 Percent)
The Upper middle-class consists of "successful business people, executives, professionals, and high
ranking civil and military officials. Ownership of business as well as prestigious occupations bring
wealth to these individuals. Most have high levels of education. The wealth of this class comes from
investment and savings. Unlike in the upper class, they inherit little of their wealth. This group is very
active politically and culturally.
C. Middle Class (30 percent)
The lower middle-class also consists of professionals, semi professionals and small business people.
People who make up the middle-class are less affluent and occupy fewer prestigious positions that
the Upper Middle-class. The middle class includes nurses, teachers, police officers, and social
workers. The middle-class includes most of the white collar work force and others who earn
"respectable" livings. Jobs for this group are generally secure. The middle-class is well educated.
They also have great political impact. It was this group after all, who got us out of Vietnam and who
lead the California tax rebellion.
D. Working Class (40 percent)
The working class consists of skilled and unskilled workers (blue collar workers), factory workers,
farm hands, sales personnel, and low-level clerical workers. Usually these positions do not require
college. Although many in this class belong to unions, it is not, as a rule, an effective political force.
Jobs performed by this group are routine, mechanized, and closely supervised. These jobs are less
secure than jobs performed by people in the middle-class.
The nature of work performed by the working-class has changed. On one hand the back breaking
work that used to characterize the working-class has evolved into less physically demanding work.
Regardless, work performed at this level is none-the-less tedious. It is also boring. The working-class
is less secure now than in the past. As corporation shift their operations offshore, jobs traditionally
done by this group are now performed by Third-Worlders.
E. Lower Class (20 percent)
The lower-class consists of the poor. The lower-class experiences high rates of unemployment and
dependency on government, employers, the state of the economy, and landlords. People from the
lower-class are not likely to succeed in the educational system. They experience prejudice from the
legal system. This class seldom exerts itself politically.
F. The Under-class (1 percent)
See William Julius Wilson (1980, 1987)
VIII. Consequences of Class Position
A. Dating and Marriage
Children tend to seek out those who act, speak, and have the same cultural values as themselves.
The upper class also arranges social events such that upper class children meet only upper class
children.
B. Socialization
Class also shapes values and norms and these norms and values in turn determine how people act in
social settings like school and occupation. Middle-class children grow up valuing independence more
than working-class people while working-class people prefer conformity.
C. Health
In general the higher the social class, the greater the life expectancy. The poor are subject to more
infant deaths and disease than the upper classes. Rates of mental illness also go up as social class
goes down and the poor are less likely to receive treatment. The higher level of stress is one
explanation for higher rates of mental illness.
D. Formal Education
Class correlates with education in a number of ways. Since education is community based, class
determines the quality of teachers and curriculum. Teachers have middle class backgrounds and,
therefore, work better with students "like themselves." The importance of education receives greater
emphasis in upper classes, therefore, children of the upper classes are more likely to attend college.

1970 Educational levels

Upper class 88 percent attend college

Lower middle 64 percent attend college

Upper working 40 percent attend college

Lower working 15 percent attend college

(Data from Charon, 333:1986)

E. Political Behavior and Attitudes

People who occupy higher class positions tend to act in their class interests by voting while people
from lower levels of society do not. The following material on voting patterns addresses the 1972
Presidential election (see Charon, 333:1986).

Comparison of voting patterns with education levels

47 percent of those with an elementary school education or less voted.  

61 percent of those with a high school education voted

79 percent of the college educated voted

Comparison of voting turnouts with employment status

50 percent of the unemployed voted

66 percent of the employed voted

Comparison of voting levels with occupation status

49 percent of laborers voted

61 percent of craft workers voted

76 percent of white collar workers voted

F. Crime and law enforcement
People from the lower classes do not commit crimes. However, the crimes committed by the poor
receive more attention. Poor people, who commit crimes, are more likely to receive punishment.
Nowhere is the power differential between classes more obvious than in the criminal justice system.
G. Perspective
The higher ones class, the greater is ones optimism about the economy and political order. The
greater is the hope for personal success. People who live in poverty, even though schools and
parents teach them that they should strive to rise above poverty, face schools that can't teach them.
They encounter employers that won't hire them. They live near stores that can't sell to them. The
poor, after all, have different class backgrounds than their teachers. They have no skills to sell
employers. They have no money with which to buy things.
 
Bibliography
Appelbaum, Richard P. and William J. Chambliss
1997 Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New York: Longman.
Bassis, Michael S and Richard J. Gelles, Ann Levine
1991 Sociology: An Introduction. (4th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.
Charon, Joel
1986 Sociology: A Conceptual Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Coleman and Rainwater
1971
Eitzen, D. Stanley and Maxine Baca-Zinn
1986 Social Problems. (3rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1989 Social Problems. (4rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1992 Social Problems. (5rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1994 Social Problems. (6rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1997 Social Problems. (7rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Farley, John E.
2000 Majority-Minority Relations. (4th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
2005 Majority-Minority Relations. (5th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
Harrington, Michael
1984 The New American Poverty. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Henslin, James
1999 Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (4th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2004 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (5th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2006 Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach, (6th Ed) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Long, Russell L.
1993" The World Economy and Patterns of Vulnerability and Inequality: A Comparative Analysis of
the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany." Unpublished Dissertation. The
University of New Mexico.
Reich, Robert B.
1991 The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf.
Robertson, Ian
1989 Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishing Co.
Weber, Max
1968 Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Edited by Guenther Roth and Claus
Wittich. New York: Bedminster Press.
Wilson, William Julius
1980
1987
Wolff, Edward N.
1997 "Top Heavy." in Crisis in American Institutions. (10th Ed.) by Jerome H. Skolnick and Elliott
Currie. New York: Longman.
World Development Report
1991
I. Introduction: Economic Inequality is the Essence
This section explores issues that involve minorities in general. It is not intended to address specific
minorities. Any presentation like this one should provide material that applies to all minority/majority
relationships. This presentation assumes that all minorities share certain characteristics. It does not
matter whether we are talking about the relationship between the Protestants and the Catholics in
Northern Ireland or the relationship between the Chinese and the Moslems in Malaysia. Economic
inequality is the major common characteristic of all minority groups. Many civil rights leaders have
ultimately come to embrace economic injustice as the crucial issue.
Example: Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson asked at the Democratic National Convention in August 1988 "What is the
fundamental challenge of our day?" He answered his own question by saying "To end economic
violence."
Example: Malcolm X
Malcolm X, a spokesman for Afro-American causes during the early 1960s, began his political career
with absolute hatred for white people. He had good grounds to do so based on the discrimination he
experienced during his early life. Ultimately, however, Malcolm X came to embrace economic issues
as more significant that race issues. After a trip to Mecca, where he discovered whites praying to his
god, he came back to the United States proclaiming a new philosophy.
Example: Martin Luther King
Many have forgotten the issues important to King's movement after "I Have a Dream." That Speech
was given in 1963. King died in 1968 and much occurred between those two dates. General
economic inequality of the oppressed was recognized. Focus also shifted to the war in Vietnam.
II. Definitions
A. What is a Race?
Robertson (1989:193) describes a race as a group of people who share similar physical (genetic)
characteristics.
1. Racial Categories
Racial categories are human creations. As a biological concept, the term race is almost meaningless.
The intense sociological interest in race is due to the fact that people attack meaning and values,
either real or imaginary, to physical differences between groups of people.
B. What is an Ethnic Group?
An ethic group shares similar cultural characteristics and culture is learned. Characteristics that might
define an ethnic group would include a common language, religion, national origin, dietary practices,
etc. An ethnic group may be distinguished from another group by a high level of social interaction.
Ethnic groups perceive themselves as a cultural unit.
C. What is a Minority Group?
A minority is a category of people who lack power, privilege, and prestige in social, political or
economic spheres.
• Minorities must always be understood in relation to others in the social structure. A
minority groups lacks power, prestige, and privilege in relation to others. They are
unable to achieve their will. They lack resources to support their own interests
effectively.
• Minority groups are people who are singled out for unequal treatment.
• Minorities have a shared sense of identity.
• Minorities may actually be a numerical majority (e.g., women in American society).
D. Racism
Racism refers to attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors that favor one group over another. Racism involves
an ideology (a belief structure) that explains racist beliefs. The minority group might be seen as
biologically inferior and, therefore, practices involving their domination and exploitation are
reasonable. Others may justify racist beliefs by citing scientific evidence. Regardless, a pervasive
ideology (belief structure) exists to validate the unequal expectations held by the majority.
III. Origins of Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Typical explanations for the existence of minority groups would be like that presented in Charon
(1985:379). They would include the following:
A. Voluntary Migration
Voluntary migration is not really a good explanation by itself. Swedes and Germans do not
experience minority status when they migrate to the US.
B. Slave Transfer
Slave transfer can surely account for minority status, but this is merely a specific form of the more
general category called colonialism.
C. Colonization
Colonialism (or conquest) is the primary cause of racism (From Huaco's Social Theory notes: Fall,
1987)
1. A conquest occurs when one group conquers another culture.
2. The conquered are immediately placed at the lower end of society.
3. To justify the degraded position of the conquered, the conquerors learn to despise the
conquered.
If you want to end racism, you have to decolonize. For example, give minorities a share of the surplus
taken from them during slavery. Programs such as busing, having pretty minority girls win beauty
contests, etc. will not end racism. Such programs benefit those individuals, but will not address the
ultimate problem of racism.
IV. Why do Minorities Continue in Society?
A. Minorities Lack Power Resources.
Resources could take the form of property, money, position, or organization.
B. People in Society Benefit
Members of the elite as well as members of the general population benefit from the existence of
minorities. From the stand point of the general public minorities provide scapegoat goats.
Deviantizing minorities takes people out of competition for jobs, housing, and education. From the
point of view of the elite, minorities represent groups where more profit can be extracted.
C. Culture and Structure are Generally Accepted
Most people accept the structural and cultural patterns in society and see little reason to change
them. It takes a long time for social patterns to develop. Those patterns seem functional, especially to
those who benefit from their existence. Therefore, those who benefit are more resistant to change.
Remember the idea of "Tyranny of the majority?" Most of the population is willing to let a minority of
people suffer high rates of unemployment and poverty.
D. Changing the Status Quo Is Costly
Change means that those with resources will have to pay higher taxes as well as give up existing
advantages. In the 1990s Americans are not very interested in paying taxes either.
E. Ideology Perpetuates Minority Position
The dominant group always develops a set of values and beliefs which justify existing inequality. The
justification is an attempt to rationalize the inequality. Once established, ideology becomes an integral
part of social structure and is, therefore, difficult to change. Racist beliefs are examples of ideology.
V. Patterns of Race and Ethnic Relations
A. Amalgamation
The amalgamation model [melting-pot theory] sees the dominant culture as a conglomeration of all
groups in society. Each group actively desires to be a part of the dominant culture and makes an
important contribution to the whole. Each group mixes freely with the other groups.

Example: Mexico
Blacks, Indians, and those of Spanish dissent mix much more freely than do races in the
United States. Benito Juarez became the first Indian president in 1860 while the U.S. only
contemplated its first Black President in 1984. In Mexico many people are a mix of Indian
and Spanish. In the U.S. we hesitate to even acknowledge the contributions of minority
groups.

B. Assimilation
Assimilation is the process of being absorbed into the mainstream of the dominate culture. The
assimilation model demands that other groups conform to the dominant culture. New comers are to
be socialized into the dominant culture that is already present.
Example: "English Only."
Example: People who change their name to one that resembles names of members of the
dominant culture.
The notion of assimilation, however, is a very complex issue. Usually the dominant culture actively
desires a minority who is culturally similar (in language and ideology). There are limits to the
"closeness" that the dominant group will accept. It seems as though the dominant culture will accept
minorities that assimilate culturally, but there is resistance when minorities want to assimilate
structurally and thus achieve full citizenship rights in society.
C. Pluralism (Salad Bowl Theory)
In a pluralist society unique groups coexist side by side. The uniqueness of each group is considered
a trait worth having in the dominant culture. Note our fascination with unique cultures.
Example: American Indians in Santa Fe selling art work.
The consequence of living in a pluralist society is recognition and tolerance of cultural and ethnic
diversity.
D. Segregation
Segregation is the spatial and social separation of categories of people by race/ethnicity, class,
gender, religion, or other social characteristics (Kendall, 1998:51).
Explanations include economic inequality, prejudice, and personal preference.
Segregation can occur at work, in neighborhoods where people live, or in social activities (Appelbaum
and Chambliss, 1997:266)
E. Legal Protection of Minorities
Legal protection of minorities refers to a situation where the majority group will pass laws that protect
the status of the minority group.
Example: Canada set the Province of Nunavut for the aboriginal population who live in that area.
F. Population Transfer
Population transfer occurs when one group expels another group from a given territory.
Example: The Trail of Tears of the Cherokee Nation
Example: The Serbian campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo

G. Continued Subjugation
Continued subjugation occurs when the majority group actively engages in the oppression of a
minority group.
Example: Saddam Hussein attempted to oppress the Kurds thorough violence and intimidation.
H. Extermination -- Genocide
Genocide is the systematic annihilation of racial, ethnic, or religious groups. It generally requires the
cooperation of ordinary citizens. Hitler engaged in genocide against the Jews.
Note that these are not mutually exclusive categories. The United States, for example, have applied
all seven categories in the past 220 years.
VI. Prejudice and Discrimination
A. Definitions
1. Prejudice
Prejudice refers to a positive or a negative attitude or belief directed toward certain people based on
their membership in a particular group. The root word of prejudice is "pre-judge."
a. The Wallonians
The Wallonians are mythical people used to test prejudice.
b. The Bogardus Scale
The Bogardus Scale is a social distance scale. It does not measure discrimination. Rather, it
measures the amount of space that people prefer to keep with other groups
2. Discrimination
Discrimination is a behavior (an action), particularly with reference to unequal treatment of people
because they are of a particular group whether it be racial, ethnic, religious, or gender.
3. The Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice (an attitude) and discrimination (a behavior) are related concepts but one does not
automatically mean that the other is present. Some argue that prejudice occurs as a justification for
discrimination. They argue, citing the slave trade, that people cannot brutalize their peers. On the
other hand, masters had to brutalize their slaves. In order to rationalize inhuman behavior toward
humans, the master would believe an ideology which suggested that the slave was inferior and,
therefore, domination was justified. Robert Merton developed a typology which compared prejudice to
discrimination. He suggested that there were four possible combinations.
a. The Prejudiced Discriminator
This group would include the KKK who is both prejudiced and who discriminates.
b. The Unprejudiced Nondiscriminator
This person accepts ethnic and racial groups as equals in theory and practice.
c. The Unprejudiced Discriminator
This person believes there is really no difference between races and ethnic groups, but still
discriminates as a matter of convenience.
d. The Prejudiced Nondiscriminator
Merton describes this person as a closet bigot. They are prejudiced, but they do not openly
discriminate.
B. Sources of Prejudice
The main drift of this section is the search for personality characteristics (a personality profile if you
will) that would be predisposed toward prejudiced thought.
1. Stereotypes
A stereotype is a mental image which assumes that whatever is believed about a group is typical for
the entire group. Stereotypical thinking is unavoidable in social life and it is not automatically bad.
"The essence of prejudicial thinking, however, is that the stereotype is not checked against reality. It
is not modified by experiences that counter the rigid image (Robertson, 1989:202).
2. Authoritarian Personalities
Theodore Adorno contends that many prejudiced people have a distinct set of personality traits
centered on conformity, intolerance, and insecurity. The authoritarian personality is submissive to
authority. They tend to be anti-intellectual and anti-scientific. They are disturbed by ambiguities in
sexual or religious matters. They see the world in very rigid and stereotypical terms.
The authoritarian personality develops within the family environment. Parents are themselves "cold,
aloof, strict disciplinarians, and are themselves bigots" (see Farley, 1995).
3. Scapegoating
Scapegoating occurs when one blames one's troubles on someone else who is relatively powerless.
This may occur when one group feels threatened, but are themselves powerless to act against the
actual source of the threat.
4. Social Environment
All of the above are rather psychological. There is also the social context. Our attitudes and behaviors
are learned within a social context.
C. Forms of Discrimination
"Discrimination occurs when the dominant group regards itself as entitled to social advantages and
uses its power to secure them at the expense of minority groups" (Robertson, 1989:204). There are
two forms of discrimination.
1. Personal
Personal discrimination occurs when one member in society treats another group in society differently
based on some criteria based on race or ethnicity.
2. Legal
Robertson (1989:204) provides a formal definition of legal discrimination. He contends that legal
discrimination is "unequal treatment, on the grounds of group membership, that is upheld by law."
3. Institutional
Although legal discrimination in the U.S. has ended (in terms of racial and ethnic categories of
people), institutional discrimination remains a major barrier to social equality. Institutional
discrimination refers to unequal treatment that is entrenched in social institutions. One example would
be segregated housing. Another idea here would be the concept of blocked opportunities.
VII. Women as Minorities
A. Women are like other minorities in that...
1. Women lack power relative to men. They do not hold high position and have fewer
resources.
2. Women lack privilege relative to men
3. Women lack prestige
4. Women are also developing a consciousness of themselves as a separate category of
people with common interests. They are beginning to work together to achieve common
goals.
B. Women are different from other minorities in that ...
1. Women generally have better education than other minorities, yet in what they are able
to achieve with that education, they are similar to other minorities. In fact, when
education is held equal, women suffer more than racial and ethnic minorities.
2. Women are actually a numerical majority (in the U.S.) which gives them resources that
other minorities do not have. Women can vote collectively. Yet, women face the same
problems of organization and unity that other minorities face.
3. Women are physically integrated into society.

Bibliography
Farley, John E
1995 Majority / Minority Relations. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Malcolm X
? Malcolm X Speaks.
Robertson, Ian
1989 Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishing.
Charon, Joel
1986 Sociology: A Conceptual Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Huaco, George
1987 Lecture material at the University of New Mexico.
Economic independence is a primary goal for many of the oppressed in the United States. In
American society work is the preferred avenue people follow in pursuit of economic independence.
Often, however, those most in need in society have the greatest difficulty finding work (or at least
work that offers adequate compensation). The material presented in this article specifically targets
women. Much of it, however, applies to economically disadvantaged minorities overall.
An overarching theme in this article calls attention to a concept of institutional discrimination. Legal
discrimination is, after all, illegal. Presumably, if one can document legal discrimination, one can
remove such discrimination through the courts or legislatures. Institutional discrimination, on the other
hand, is much more insidious and, therefore, more difficult to rectify. Institutional discrimination
resides within the fabric of society. Harrington (1984) poetically called institutional discrimination
"structures of misery." Eitzen and Baca-Zinn (1994:174) describe institutional discrimination as "the
customary ways of doing things, prevailing attitudes and expectations, and accepted structural
arrangements [that] works to the disadvantage [of the poor]." Institutional discrimination explains
much inequality in gender (and race and ethnicity) found in the workplace.
The specifics of this article explore earnings discrimination, occupational distribution, the organization
of work, and the character of relationships within the family where, according to many, the essence of
gender inequality resides.

I. Concepts
gender stratification
Gender stratification, cuts across all aspects of social life, cuts across all social classes,
and refers to men and women's unequal access to power, prestige, and property on the
basis of their sex.
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment refers to unwanted sexual comments, touches, looks, or pressure to
have sex (Henslin, 1999:301).
gender
Gender refers to behavioral differences between males and females that are culturally
based and socially learned (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:218). Henslin (1999) argues
that in every society, the primary division between people is based on gender.
sex
Kendall (1998:68) defines sex as the biological difference between men and women. It's
the first label we receive in life.
What is Sexual Orientation?
Sexual Orientation refers to a preference for emotional-sexual relationships with individuals
of the same sex (homosexuality), the opposite sex (heterosexuality), or both (bisexuality)
(Kendall, 1998:113).
sexism
Kendall (1998:67) describes sexism as the subordination of one sex, usually female, on the
basis of the assumed superiority of the other sex. An example of sexism is the statement
"a woman's place is in the home."
Feminism
Feminism is both the belief that social equality should exist between the sexes and the
social movement aimed at achieving that goal. Feminism is based on the philosophy that
biology is not destiny.
Patriarchy
Patriarchy refers to a society or group in which men have power over women.
Origins of Patriarchy
Henslin (2008:262) contends that patriarchy is tied to the "social consequences of
 reproduction." He notes that historically, life was short which required the production of
many babies. This fact had serious consequences for women because only women could
become pregnant, carry a child, give birth and nurse children. Henslin (2008:262)
suggests that because women of child care duties, women "assumed tasks associated with
home and child care."

II. Earning Discrimination

A. Equal Pay for Equal Work?
In 1980 women earned approximately 59 percent of every dollar earned by men (Eitzen and Baca-
Zinn, 1994:253). This ratio improves slightly during economic growth periods in the national economy.
In 1990 the figure was 71 percent of every dollar earned by men (Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994:253).
Recessionary periods, on the other hand, are characterized by growing disparity in wages earned by
men and women.
Many, like Esping-Andersen (1990), argue that as the economy becomes more internationalized, the
gender bias in earnings begins to disappear. The logic here is that advanced capitalism requires the
best person for the job despite gender (or race and ethnicity). There is some evidence to support
Esping-Andersen's claim. Women who work in internationally competitive industrial sectors do appear
to earn salaries that are closer to those earned by men (see Long, 1993).
Long (1995), however, disputes the claim that all women are experiencing greater parity with their
male counterparts. Huge salaries earned by women who have skills demanded by corporations that
produce in the international arena mask continued (and perhaps growing) inequality experienced
between men and women in the United States in the lower social strata.

Comparable Worth
Comparable Worth is a philosophy of "Pay Equity" which suggests that jobs of comparable
values (skills and experience) should be paid the same.

B. Differential Access
Differential access means that men have greater access to the labor market than do women.
Differential access does not explain the entire problem, however. Women earn less than men even
on jobs where all other qualifications are held constant.
1. Women Enter the Labor Market with Lower Paying Jobs
Three issues are dealt with regarding institutional discrimination. The first item notes that women
enter the labor market at different and lower paying levels than do men. Historically, men were
doctors while women were nurses; men taught in college while women taught in primary schools;
men worked construction while women were secretaries; men worked in the automobile and steel
industries while women worked in apparels and textiles. In each of the above comparisons men are
employed in sectors that pay higher wages and than women in the respective sectors.
2. Women Enter the Labor Market Later than Men and Periodically Have to Leave.
A second observation notes that women enter the labor market later than men and periodically have
to leave. The explanation is obvious. Women enter the labor market later than men and periodically
leave to have children. Childbearing is obviously a necessary social endeavor. The labor market and
society overall would cease to function if women did not leave the labor market to have children.
Unfortunately society does not compensate women for this activity (and other domestic concerns)
and it penalizes them in the labor market.
One has difficulty arguing that an employee who has longevity on a job deserves raises while one
who has a "spotty" work record does not. On the other hand, it is not especially difficult to see the
inherent inequity in a system that penalizes women for essentially doing a good job (domestically) in
an activity that is absolutely indispensable socially.
3. Women Earn Less Overtime Than Men
A final observation revolves around the fact that women earn less overtime than do men. Overtime
pay represents the difference between having a good life and a marginal life for skilled and
semiskilled workers. Industry and manufacturing provide overtime pay. These sectors hire primarily
males. Service sector work, such as clerical work, does not pay overtime nearly as much as
manufacturing. These sectors rely heavily on a female workforce.
Differential access highlights the institution character of gender inequality. One can easily see the
dynamics that generate inequality. Solutions are difficult to pinpoint within the institution of work. One
might argue that Americans place too much emphasis on WORK as an avenue to prosperity. An
analysis of Scandinavian social arrangements might be in order.

The Second Shift

Appelbaum & Chambliss (1997:228) argue that the "second-shift" is the unpaid housework
that women typically do after they come home from their paid employment.

III. Occupational Distribution

The kind of work an individual does often determines whether that individual (and his or her family) is
wealthy or poor. The previous section, in part, explored inequities in wage-compensation associated
with various kinds of work. Wages, of course, are only one benefit gained from employment. Other
benefits include time-off (Gorz, 1984 argues that leisure is a fundamental issue regarding work),
health and retirement benefits, and longevity (to mention a few).
At this point exploring the general structure of work is beneficial. Often minorities are tracked into jobs
that do not provide compensation at a level that allows economic independence. An observation that
one might draw is that there are entire categories of jobs that have similar characteristics.
A. The Split-labor market
Worker's finds themselves employed in one of two great segments in the capitalist economy. These
segments have different characteristics, fulfill different roles in the economy, and provide different
rewards for the laborer (Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994:441-443).
1. The Primary Sector
The primary sector is composed of large, bureaucratic organizations with relatively stable production
and sales. Jobs within this sector require advanced skills, provide relatively high levels of wage
compensation, include good working conditions, and are characterized by stable employment.
a. Upper Tier
Women are moving into professional areas, but their proportion in professional areas is still quite low.
There has also developed a split in the professional circles that see some professional jobs becoming
routinized. Much of the employee's autonomy is taken out of these "professional" jobs. Structural
change occurs within the world system also which has impact on women.
Within the primary sector are two sub tiers. Characteristics of the jobs in the upper-tier are highly
educated employees who work at jobs that require creativity and initiative. Upward mobility is likely.
b. Lower Tier
In the lower-tier one finds white-collar clerical or blue-collar skilled and semiskilled people. Limited
mobility characterizes employment in the lower-tier, but jobs are relatively secure and have union
advocacy.
2. The Secondary Sector
The secondary market is composed of marginal firms where product demand is unstable. Poor
working conditions characterize the work place. Secondary sector employment provides low wages,
few opportunities for advancement, and little job security. Secondary sector employment requires little
education or skills. People get locked into these positions because they do not have skills. Many
account for the low levels of benefits and security found in the secondary market by blaming the
person occupying such positions. Many accuse secondary sector workers of having poor work
histories. Often, however, the poor work history is a result of unemployment related to the production
of marginal products. Workers in the secondary market are subject to harsh working conditions and
oppressive discipline from management. Both conditions are related to the fact that there are no
unions.
Minorities (ethnic, racial, and gender) tend to work in the secondary sector. This, in part, explains
wage and salary inequities.

Glass Ceiling
Appelbaum & Chambliss (1997:232) describe the glass ceiling as a seemingly invisible
barrier to movement into the very top positions in business and government, which makes
it difficult for women to reach the top of their professions.

B. Structural Change in the Job Market: Pink Collar Work

Eitzen and Baca-Zinn (1994:252) note that in 1940 only 20% of women of working age were in the job
market. By 1991 this figure had risen to 57 percent. Greater participation in the labor force does not,
however, translate into empowerment (Staudt, 1987) because often they are forced into what Eitzen
and Baca-Zinn (1994:252) call "pink-collar" professions. As the capitalist economy is transformed
from a manufacturing economy into an advanced service economy, there is greater need for clerical
and service sector jobs and women generally fill these jobs.
Pink-collar refers to jobs generated in the clerical and service sector. They generally employ women,
but many men do this kind of work as well. "Pink-collar" positions generally offer low wages
compared with employment in manufacturing.
IV. The Organization of Work and Inequality
Economic independence is ultimately enhanced for some because their job allows them to
experience a great deal of upward mobility. Some individuals do not experience UPWARD mobility.
Their jobs are dead-end jobs. On the other hand, some jobs have slots that allow some people to
experience upward mobility, but the manner in which promotions are granted is biased. This section
addresses blocked opportunities and "old boy" networks.
A. The Power of Organizational Position: Blocked Opportunities
Majority groups always develop justifications to explain the inequalities they impose on minority
groups. Often religious or biological explanations are involved. Biology might be used to explain
stereotypical perceptions that "men are more ambitious, task-oriented, and work involved." Perhaps
god my even be invoked to explain why women are "seen as less motivated, less committed, and
more oriented toward work based social relationships than to work itself."
Obviously we live in the 1990s and educated people recognize such clichés' as trash. There is,
however, the possibility that the expected behavior exists at a sufficient level to perpetuate the
stereotype -- a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. In the work force, male bosses in secretarial pools
might see enough "socializing" to fulfill their expectations that women socialize too much. While that
boss might conjure up religion or biology, the behavior he is seeing might be related to "pressures"
which emanate from the organizational position his secretaries occupy.
Blocked opportunities refer to structural barriers that minorities encounter that prevent their
advancement in an organization. People who have their opportunities blocked (despite their
demographic characteristics) limit their aspirations. Instead of defining themselves through the work
they perform, they seek satisfaction in activities outside work, dream of escape, and create sociable
peer groups in which inter personal relationships become more important than the specific job they
are hired to perform. The key point is that the characteristics of work (that block opportunity)
determine the characteristics of the employee.
B. Old Boy Networks
Old-boy networks refer to the informal social relationships that occur within any large organization.
They may not have discriminatory intentions, but their actions amount to discrimination in that
minorities are ultimately excluded from participation in the organization. While the term "old-boy"
implies a male dominated organization, the gender reference might be misplaced. Old-boy simply
refers to those individuals who have a historic relationship with an organization who occupies
positions of power within the organization. Women can occupy these positions, but often men are the
controlling force in many firms.
Demographic characteristics of informal associations within corporations may inadvertently (or
overtly) limit minority access to higher positions within the organization. Many decisions concerning
company policy (in terms of hiring and firing) occur in these "old-boy" networks. Imagine, for example,
the informal gathering at the health spa at 6:30 in the morning before work. Obviously women would
not "fit in" here. Or suppose the old-boys gather at the local bar Friday evenings to discuss business
or to tell gender specific jokes.
Again, it would not be too far-fetched to think of a scenario where the "old-boys" would argue that
women might be uncomfortable in the barroom setting. They might even convince themselves that
they would do a potential female employee a favor by not subjecting her to that environment. Despite
the patronizing position, one might hypothesize that many a minority has been excluded from
companies as the organization hierarchy engages in precisely these kinds of arguments and
justifications for not hiring minorities.
V. Inequality within the Family
The status of women within the family parallels the position that they hold in the job markets.
Women, however, earn no money for the jobs that they perform in terms of housework and child
rearing, although these jobs are necessary for the survival of the family. Despite the importance of
such work, it is not viewed as prestigious in terms of wage compensation.
The status of men, as wage earners outside the home, helps establish his highly valued position
within the family because women do not have access to resources outside the home. The position of
women in the labor market adds to their dependence experienced within the family.
Gender inequality is historically related to the subordinate position of women within the family in terms
of rule making and control of resources (e.g., money). This relationship is continued within the labor
market where historically men have secured vested positions by making the rules (controlling
management and labor) and by receiving unequal (greater) rewards. (Eitzen and Baca-Zinn,
1994:443)
The reader should be aware that the kinds of relationships discussed above characterize most
majority/minority relationships. The dominant partner in any social relationship can maintain power via
a combination of control over decision making processes, control of wealth, and one might add
control over ideology that superimposes a justification on top of unequal relationships.

Bibliography
Andersen, Margaret L. and Howard F. Taylor
2001 Sociology: The Essentials. Wadsworth.
Eitzen, D. Stanley and Maxine Baca-Zinn
1986 Social Problems. (3rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1989 Social Problems. (4rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1992 Social Problems. (5rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1994 Social Problems. (6rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
1997 Social Problems. (7rd Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Esping-Andersen, Gosta
1990 The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Gorz, Andre
1964 Strategy for Labor: A Radical Proposal. Boston: Beacon Press.
Harrington, Michael
1984 The New American Poverty. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Lim, Linda Y.C.
1983 "Capitalism, Imperialism, and Patriarchy: The Dilemma of Third-World Women Workers in
Multinational factories." pp. 70-91 in June Nash and Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, Women, Men,
and the International Division of Labor. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Long, Russell L.
1993" The World Economy and Patterns of Vulnerability and Inequality: A Comparative Analysis of
the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany." Unpublished Dissertation. The
University of New Mexico.
1995 "The Differential Impact of the World Economy on Men and Women Employed in Globally
Competitive Industrial Sectors: A Cross-National Comparison." Currently under review by the
Humboldt Journal of Social Relations. Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
Staudt, Kathleen
1987 "Programming Women's Empowerment: A case from Northern Mexico." Pp. 155-176 in Women
on the U.S.-Mexico border: Responses to Change by Ruiz, Vicki L and Susan Tiano. Boston: Allen &
Unwin.

I. Forms of Authority
Appelbaum and Chambliss (248:1997) begin their discussion of political sociology with some material
drawn from Max Weber on the relationship between power and authority. Remember, power is the
ability to achieve one's will despite resistance from others. Weber was initially concerned with
legitimate authority. This is a type of power that is exercised over people who see that exercise of
power as legitimate.
There are three types of state power and authority.
A. Traditional Authority
For much of human history, the state relied on traditional authority. Traditional authority is power
based on a belief in the sanctity of long-standing traditions and the legitimate right of rulers to
exercise authority in accordance with these traditions. Rulers rule because of "age-old" norms and
values. The followers agree that these norms and values and important. Often the tradition is based
on religious doctrine. Traditional authority is conservative and tends to be stable. Monarchies are
good examples (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 248:1997).
Example: Henslin (2004:295) notes that gender relationships in most societies are examples of
traditional authority. Parenting is also based on tradition. Parents usually discipline their kids based
on guidelines they learned from their own parents.
B. Charismatic Authority
Charismatic authority is power based on devotion inspired in followers by the presumed extraordinary
personal qualities of the leader. The leader is seen as having a gift of super human or divine powers.
This type of authority can threaten the other two types of power and authority or it can serve as an
alternative to the other two when the other two types have broken down.
When the charismatic leaders dies, his or her power usually dies with them. Their successors will
generally attempt to routinize their leaders charm, which generally doesn't work. The charismatic
authority will slowly transform itself into one of the other two types of authority (Appelbaum and
Chambliss, 249:1997).
C. Legal-Rational Authority
Weber considered traditional authority as impeding capitalist economic growth. Capitalism is based
on forms of organization that require careful calculation rather than habit. As capitalism developed,
traditional authority gave way to legal-rational authority. Legal rational authority or power is based on
a belief in the lawfulness of enacted rules (laws) the the legitimate right of leaders to exercise
authority under such rules. People believe in laws rather than in tradition. Leaders are legitimate as
long as they obey the laws Laws are enacted through formal bureaucratic procedure. The authority of
the President of the United States rests in liberal-rational authority. Weber argues that this type of
authority is most compatible with modern capitalism and socialism (Appelbaum and Chambliss,
248:1997).
Example: The authority of the President of the United States is based on legal-rational authority.
II. State and Government
Our focus to date has been on issues concerning social class. Social classes, however, are not the
only power contenders in society. The state plays an increasingly important role in the political arena.
Despite the fact that the state is a rather recent historical development, it has emerged to become
"the main source of social authority, successfully claiming a monopoly on the legitimate use of force
in a given territory" (Robertson, 1989:331). The state is not the same as government. The state is an
impersonal authority. Government, on the other hand, refers to the people who happen to be charged
with directing the power of the state at any given time.

Measuring the Increasing Power of the State

In order to demonstrate the growth in the power of the state, one might like to look at not
only the absolute growth in dollars spent by the state, but also at the proportion of GNP of
a nation controlled by the state.
In modern societies (1989:331) the power of the state expands not only in size, but it broadens its
scope as it comes to regulate more aspects of social life, such as welfare, education, transportation,
scientific research, economic planning.
A. Functionalist Theories of the State
Robertson (1989:332) points out that the overarching concept which underlies all functionalist
explanations of the state pertains the state's role in the preservation of social order.
1. Enforcement of Norms
Small communities are able to enforce local norms by spontaneous action, but this kind of rule
becomes impossible in large complex societies. The state, therefore, acts to codify norms into explicit
written laws.
2. Arbitration of Conflict
Conflict may arise over scarce resources, national goals, conflicting interests. The state is the
ultimate authority for "deciding who gets what, when, and how" (Robertson, 1989:331).
3. Planning and Direction
Complex societies require centralized, coordinated, and systematic planning and direction.
4. International Relations
This included political, economic, and military international relations such as alliances and trade
agreements.
B. Conflict Theories of the State
Conflict theory argues that the state exists simply for the protection of the interests of the wealthy and
powerful in society.
1. Rousseau
Robertson (1989:333) maintains that Rousseau criticized the state when he said "Man is born Free,
yet everywhere he is in chains." Rousseau contended that the state exists merely to protect the
interests of the wealthy.
2. Marx
Marx's Communist Manifesto (1848 in Tucker, 1978) clarifies this point quite nicely. Marx calls the
state "the executive committee of the ruling class." It not only protects the interests of the ruling class,
but also ensures that the ruling class will be able to enjoy the surplus wealth extracted from the backs
of the people. For Marx, once a society is created (a communist one) where there was no
stratification based upon property, the state would lose it reason for existing and wither away.
(Actuality, Engels said this and rather than the entire state apparatus disappearing, only those
aspects that control economic affairs for the rich will disappear.)
C. Neo-Conflict Theories of the State
Marx and Engels placed heavy emphasis on the character of class relations in describing how and
why states exist. The primary difference between traditional conflict theories, like those of Marx, and
neo-conflict theories is that neo-conflict theories regard the state as an autonomous and independent
actor (See Block, 1977; Skocpol, 1985). The state is an organization with its own needs such as
maintenance of its complex bureaucracies and protection of its special privilege. Social conflict in
general, and not class conflict, is explored.
1. Activities Unrelated to Class Issues
The state performs duties in society that are not particularly related to class interests. All modern
societies, regardless of their class configuration, require intervention by a central authority. (See the
four points listed under functionalist views). Neo-conflict and Neo-Marxist theorists of political
sociology visualize the state as mediating disputes between a variety of interest groups. Usually the
wealthy are favored, but not always. Other interest groups that might be considered would include
racial or ethnic groups, an inner city vs. suburbs, consumers and producers, liberals and
conservatives.
2. What is State Autonomy?
State autonomy refers to the ability of the state to formulate policy goals independent of other actors
such as social classes or from other groups. State autonomy might also address situations where the
state is able to act "in the face of recalcitrant socioeconomic circumstances" (1985:9). In this vein, the
strength of the state may be visualized in terms of its ability to pursue independent interests. Actions
may be required in the international community that the domestic population is unconcerned with or
even resistant to. Military officials or civil service bureaucrats may, however, recognize the need to
act on transnational considerations.
3. The Power of Bureaucracy
Trimberger (in Skocpol, 1985:10) describes an autonomous state as one in which bureaucratic
officials are not recruited from the dominant classes and who have no ties to the dominant class
(agricultural, industrial, or commercial). The state's relationship to these classes, however, has impact
upon the direction that a state's autonomy may lead.
State actions ( . . . ) are not all acts of coercion or domination; they are, instead, the intellectual
activities of civil administrators engaged in diagnosing societal problems and framing policy
alternatives to deal with them.
... The process is political, not because all policy is a by-product of power and conflict but because
some men and women have undertaken to act in the name of others (in Skocpol, 1985:11).
Its Heclo's position that in Sweden and Great Britain people who work within the state bureaucratic
apparatus has more impact on policy decisions than do people from the political parties or other
outside interests. (See Notes on Skocpol page 5 and 6 about how the U.S. has little state autonomy.)
Class Question:
Does the U.S. have an autonomous state government? In terms of domestic policy? In terms of
international policy?

Pluralist Models vs. Power Elite Models

Power-Elite Model
C. Wright Mills coined the term power elite to refer to the collection of people who make the
big decisions in U.S. society.
Interlocking Directorships
Interlocking directorships occur when the same people sit on the boards of directors of
different corporations, universities, or financial institutions.
Pluralism:Model
The pluralist model suggests that power in society is derived from the representation of diverse
interests in society.
According to the functionalist perspective, pluralism keeps the government of the United
States from turning against its citizens.

4. Extreme Instances of State Autonomy

Skocpol (1985:9) discusses "extreme instances of autonomous state action" which she calls
REVOLUTION FROM ABOVE. This refers to a situation where individuals who are in charge of the
state seize control of the entire state apparatus for the purpose of promoting "reformist or
revolutionary change from above." Skocpol cites Stepan and Trimberger in this vein. Generally, such
activity occurs in a setting where career military officials are in positions of power. They're training in
the military steers them toward seizing control and installing corporatist governments in order to deal
with crises, whether domestic or international. During the seizure of power, there may be an attempt
to destroy traditional elite classes or other groups which might resist the seizure of power.
III. Forms of Government
Analysis of governmental form dates back to the days of Aristotle. Aristotle divided the forms of
government into three groups. The first was tyranny (or the rule of a single individual. The second
was the rule of oligarchy or the rule of the few. The third category was democracy or the rule of the
people.
A. Tyranny, Authoritarianism, and Totalitarianism
Robertson (1989:334), while distinguishing between authoritarianism and totalitarianism, maintains
that authoritarian types of governments tolerate little or no public opposition, but they will negotiate
with other groups who may or may not support the existing government. Other groups may include
business interests, religious interests, or class interests. Included in authoritarian type governments
would be monarchies, dictatorships, or Juntas.
Authoritarian governments also tend to be short lived. This means that the transition to democracy is
possible.
Totalitarian governments are also authoritarian, but unlike authoritarian governments, totalitarian
governments tolerate no opposition to their rule. In order to ensure total acquiescence of the
population, totalitarian governments use modern techniques of indoctrination and surveillance of the
population. The Nazi's as well as the governments of North Korea represent examples of totalitarian
governments. These societies are characterized by elaborate ideologies that cover every phrase of
the individuals life; a single political party; that is identical with the government, widespread use of
intimidation; complete control of the mass media; monopoly control of weaponry and armed forces;
and direction of the economy by the state bureaucracy (Robertson, 1989:334).
B. Oligarchy
The rule of a few. See Michels (1962)
C. Democracy
Democratic rule means that authority ultimately lies in the hands of the people. The ideal type of
democracy would be a participatory or pure democracy where everyone has equal input into policy.
Direct or pure democracy, however, has never existed at the level of nation-state.
Societies which claim to have democratic forms of government have representative democracies.
Voters elect representatives who in turn make political decisions on behalf of the voters. Stable
representative democracies are found in highly industrial countries. Representative democracy, as a
form of government, is recent, rare, and fragile.
1. Historic Foundations of Democracy
Chirot (1986) provides a great discussion that centers around decentralization of power as an
important component that lead to the formation of democracy.
2. Types of Democracies
See Whitehead (1986) for a discussion of the differences between the goals of European democracy
and the goals of American democracy (i.e., political democracy vs. Social democracy).
IV. Prerequisites for Democracy
A. Advanced Economic Development
Where does one find democracy? Democracies appeared in advanced economically developed
societies because:
1. A highly literate populace demands to participate in government.
2. A large middle-class acts to protect its interests through democracy.
 3. The survival of democratic forms of government may depend upon continual economic
growth. During periods of economic growth, even the poor feel like their lives are getting
better. There is more of a feeling of camaraderie between the masses and between
masses and elites. Everyone is more willing to negotiate because nearly everyone feels
that their life is improving -- no one feels threatened. During periods of economic
decline, however, those who control the means of authority and violence act to protect
their interests. They often do so by invoking a more authoritarian form of government.
B. Restraints on Government Power
Restraints on government power would include the following:
1. Laws limiting the exercise of power.
2. Laws limiting the length of a term that a leader may occupy an office. In general, a
citizen should feel confident that a sitting government, once voted out of office, will in
fact leave office. Remember in Panama, Noriega was voted out of office, but refused to
leave.
C. Absence of Major Cleavages
Democracies are most successful where the society shares a consensus on basic values and also
show a desire for a stable government. Ironically, although many Americans complain about the few
choices provided during each election, but that is apparently required for a democracy to work.
Democracy is not likely to survive where there is great political division. Imagine what kind of political
situation would ensue if there were radical cleavage in the populace. If cleavages occurred along
class lines, with the upper class and the working class squaring off against one another, then we
would have precisely the revolutionary situation called for by Marx.
Example: The Civil War is an Extreme example of great political cleavage.
D. Tolerance of Dissent
Robertson (1989:336) maintains that this is critical in a democracy.
E. Access to Information
Citizens need to be able to make informed choices and this requires information. A free press is
necessary. The press should be able to openly criticize the government.
F. Diffusion of Power
The diffusion of power is as critical today as it was during the feudal ages when democratic
governments were first forming. In a situation where one group in society maintains a monopoly on
power, one might hypothesize that group would act to consolidate its hold on society (i.e., no
democracy).
One means that facilitates the diffusion of power in the U.S. is the separation of branches of
government (the president, congress, and the Supreme Court). Another American example of the
diffusion of power would be how policy is enacted at three different levels -- local, state, and federal.

Limitations on Democracy:
The Role of Violence
Example: My lament on violence and being a humanist
Example: How the Russians got their hostages back.

V. The American Political Process

The American political process is a mix of formal public debate and informal, behind the doors
interaction.
A. Political Parties
A political party is an organization whose purpose is to gain legitimate control of the state. Robertson
(1989:337) maintains that political parties are vital for the well being of democracies. Parties link the
government with the people. They define policy alternatives, transmit public opinion, and mobilize the
masses. They are also responsible for the recruitment and presentation of candidates to the people.
1. American Democracy
Most democracies have many parties. Effectively, the American political process has only two parties.
In the American form of democracy, the majority rules. Minority parties, therefore, cannot survive.
Because American political parties have to appeal to a majority of the electorate, they:
• tend to focus on middle of the road political issues (e.g., crime and family
values).
• They cross class lines
• They avoid specific or controversial policies and issues. American political parties
could not win elections if they advocated specific issues or offered support to
specific groups.
2. European Democracies
European democracies are characterized by many parties. Since European parliaments seat parties
according to their percentage of the vote, it's practical for minority parties to exist. Even a party
receiving only 15% of the vote will have a voice in government (See Robertson, 1989:338).
Note that Italy has more than 250 parties and the government falls every nine months.
B. Interest Groups
Interest groups are organizations which attempt to influence political decisions that might have impact
on party members or their goals.
These groups may be large or small, temporary or permanent, secretive or open, but they all try to
gain access to, and sway, those who have power (Robertson, 1989:33).
1. Methods of Gaining influence
a. Lobbying
Interests groups may employ a variety of tactics to gain influence with governmental officials.
Lobbying refers to the tactic of directly persuading decision makers.
b. PACs
Political Action Committees (PACs) are organizations established by interest groups for the purpose
of collecting and distributing campaign funds.
2. The Impact of Interest Groups
Robertson (1989:340) contends that political sociologists are divided as to the effect that interests
groups have on democracies.
a. Positive
A potential benefit of PACs would be that they represent so many different interests that they are all
powerful, and can there fore ensure (by their numbers alone) that no interests group is able to gain a
monopoly on power.
Interests groups may provide a voice for citizens who are other wise powerless and voiceless.
b. Negative
On the negative side, those PACs that operate in secrecy might be able to win influence where the
general public is left ignorant of the issues being discussed.
Candidates are at the mercy of PACs. To refuse PAC money is to give your opponent a monetary
advantage.

Bibliography
Chirot, Daniel
1986 Social Change In The Modern Era. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich.
Marx, Karl
1983 "Manifesto of the Communist Party." pp. 98- 136 in Selected Works. Moscow: Progress
Publishers.
Michels, Robert
1962 Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy.
New York: Collier Books.
Robertson, Ian
1989 Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishing Co.
Skocpol, Theda
1985 Vision and Method in Historical Sociology (Ed) Theda Skocpol. London: Cambridge University
Press.
Whitehead, Lawrence
1986 "International Aspects of Democratization." In Guillermo O'Donnell, Phillippee Schmitter, and
Lawrence Whitehead (eds.), Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Comparative Perspectives.
PART 4: Social Change
Student Project:
Glance at the Globe
Students will explore the sociodemographic data found in "A Glance at the Globe."
They will then use that data to fill in the work sheet. I recommend that students print
a copy the worksheet. Please note that there are data for several years beginning in
1985. Students should use data for the Year 2009 to fill in the work sheet.
Please Note: This worksheet does NOT have to be turned into the professor. It is
simply provided to help prepare for test four.

Glance at the Globe Data Worksheet

I. Functionalist Theories of Societal Change

Functionalist theories tend to assume that as societies develop, they become ever more complex and
interdependent (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:420). Herbert Spencer referred to it as a change
from "incoherent homogeneity to coherent heterogeneity."
A. Differentiation
What distinguished premodern from modern societies is differentiation (Appelbaum and Chambliss,
1997:420). Differentiation is the development of increasing societal complexity through the creation
of specialized roles and institutions. Premodern society was characterized by people acquiring a
broad range of skills that enable them to act relatively relatively independent of one another. Modern
society, on the other hand, requires people to master a narrow range of skills and act
interdependently.
B. Evolutionary Theories
Early functionalist theories argued that all societies are gradually moving in a single direction. They
are becoming more complex and, according to the early functionalist, are becoming more adaptable
to their external environments (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:421).
There is a bit of ethnocentrism here. It is assumed that all change is "progress." The Europeans, for
example, saw their societies as more evolved that those they conquered. The Europeans concept of
self allowed then to see their involvement in the new world as necessary to help the "primitive and
backward" societies move toward a more desirable (European) style of life.
II. Conflict Theories of Societal Change
A. The Trigger
Conflict theory tends to argue that a precipitating event is needed before change occurs. The
"trigger," as Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:421-22) call it, is something like population growth,
contact with other cultures, technological advances, or changing environmental conditions.
B. Contradiction and Change
"All social systems have within them the seeds of their own destruction." -- paraphrase of K. Marx
1. Marx and Class Conflict
All societies are seen as having built-in sources of conflict that eventually lead to a sharp break with
the past. According to Marx, the trigger, inevitably involved the relationships between social classes.
Under capitalism, Marx contended that conflict was inevitable in a class-relationship that pitted the
interest of the working class against the owning class. Eventually, any type of society reaches a point
when its social organization becomes a barrier to further economic growth. Reaching this limit
precipitates a revolutionary transformation of society into a new type (e.g., from feudalism to
capitalism) or from capitalism to socialism (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:422).
2. Dialectical Change
Marx's concept of change is a specific example of a more general theory called dialectics. For Marx,
change occurred because contradictions developed within the relationships between the two primary
classes in capitalist society.
More generally, contradictions can be seen as developing within any type of relationship. The
contradictions appear as minor irritants at first, but as the relationship progresses the irritants become
profound impediments to the relationship. Ultimately, the relationships experiences sweeping
change.
III. Rise and Fall Theories
Both the evolutionary and conflict theories discussed so far tend to imply a "progress" toward more
"desirable" forms of social organization. Rise and Fall theories depart from this assumption. Rise
and Fall theories argue (in Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:422) that as nations grow in economic
power, they often seek to become world military powers as well. That goal becomes their undoing.
Support for the military eventually weakens the domestic economy. This, in turn, undermines the
prosperity that once fueled the economic power.
IV. Theories of Global Social Change:
Market-Oriented Theories and Modernization Theory
A. What is Modernization?
A host of scholars, from the left to the right, connects the incredible change experienced in the
modern era with modernization. Smelser (1988:387) defines modernization as a complex set of
changes that take place in almost every part of society as a society attempts to industrialize.

Four General Characteristics of Modernization:

1. There is a shift from the simple to the complex.

2. Agriculture progresses from being oriented toward subsistence farming that

occurs on small plots to commercial farming of large scale.

3. There is a trend toward industrialization. Human and animal power are de-
emphasized and are replaced by machinery driven production.

4. Society changes from one centered on the rural to one centered on cities.

B. What is Capitalism?
Capitalism is one of two methods that industrial societies use to organize their economic activities.
(Socialism is the other.) It is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution
are privately owned. Personal profits are derived through market competition and without government
intervention Capitalism is based on the following assumptions.
1. Private Ownership of Property
Individuals are encouraged to own not only private possessions, but the capital to buy more
possessions (see Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1998:356-57).
2. Pursuit of Maximum Profit
Individuals are encouraged to maximize their personal gains. Seeking personal gain is morally and
socially appropriate. It's the position of Adam Smith that this has many beneficial consequences for
Americans.
3. Free Competition
This is the element that keeps out profit seeking in check. In a competitive society, if one agent raises
prices too high, then others will step in to sell goods more cheaply. Fraud is thus weeded out and the
market is stabilized.
4. Laissez-faire Government
Laissez-faire government is a government that does not intervene in the economy.
How does a society hang together in a scenario where everyone is pursuing their own interest? Adam
Smith argues the capitalist economy maintains integrity because someone will provide whatever is
needed. As demand increases for a product, the potential to make profit will increase. The potential of
earning profit will encourage someone to produce those commodities that are in demand.
Competition acts as an economic regulator. Competition not only regulates the supply of desirable
commodities, it also ensures that prices remain fair and product quality remains high.
Capitalism regulates wage levels in much the same way as it regulates production and prices. If
wages are too high, someone else will rush in to work for a lower wage. If wages, on the other hand,
are too low, employees will seek better jobs. The law of the marketplace ensures a self-regulating
economy. This is the philosophy behind free enterprise. The economic system of Adam Smith is not
egalitarian, because through competition someone wins and someone loses. Grass roots capitalism
is, however, fair when all competitors have essentially the same economic base. The capitalist
economy, however, is not a static phenomenon. It undergoes continual transformation and has done
so since the end of the 15th century (see Wallerstein, 1974).
C. Positions of Market Oriented Theory
The developmental or modernizationist view of social change was the dominant paradigm during the
1950s and 1960s. It lays out the conditions under which traditional societies can become fully modern
(Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:171).
Market-Oriented theory argues that unrestricted capitalism, allowed to develop fully, is the best route
to economic growth. Further, they argue that the best economic outcomes result when individuals are
free to make their own economic decision, uninhibited by any form of government constraint.
Constraints might include efforts by Third world governments to set prices and wages (Appelbaum
and Chambliss, 1997:171).
The following material presents some assumptions associated with modernization theory.
V. Assumptions of Modernization Theory
A. The World is A Stable System of Interrelated Parts
Modernization theory, according to Shannon (1989:2), views the world society as a "relatively stable
system of interrelated parts." Modernization theory views social change as an evolutionary type
process that gradually adapted to a changing environment (Ragin and Chirot, 1984:299).
B. All Will Develop Like Europe
Shannon (1989:2-3) contends that much of the modernization theory is based upon the European
developmental experience. It suggests that all countries can become modern industrial societies.
C. Differentiation and Modernization
The primary characteristic of modernization is differentiation. A few institutions that provided broad
ranging services to the citizenry characterized premodern societies. Modern societies consist of a
variety of specialized institutions.
D. Development: An Internal Process
Modernization theory views development as an internal process in each society (generally perceived
of as nation-states.) They often view each case as independent of the others.
VI. Modernization Theory's
Prerequisites for Modernization
A. Institutional Preconditions for Modernization
Institutional preconditions inevitably involve democracy, anti-communism, and laissez-faire
government policy regarding the economy.
Modernizationist solutions to domestic economic problems advocated free-market activities that
stress comparative advantage -- a philosophy that suggests that in order for countries to develop,
each country should do what it does best.
B. Psychological Change
New values have to be learned. People in developing countries have to develop traits like
individualism, personal achievement, and a desire to control their own destiny. Individuals must learn
to want economic growth and must be willing to become more mobile. They must learn to defer
gratification. The legitimacy of the state becomes important.
VII. Theories of Global Social Change:
Marxist Theories
Marxists argue that first-world involvement in the internal development of poor countries is not
desirable. International relationships, overall, flow from a basic desire by first-world capitalists to
acquire profit. Eventually, first-world capitalists have to look outside their border for new sources of
profit (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:173).
The quest for profits can involve the search for raw materials (e.g., oil), inexpensive agricultural
products (bananas in Central America), land, or people (e.g., inexpensive labor or slaves).
A. A Never-ending Search for Raw Material
1. Agriculture
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:173) note that to profit from the sale of agricultural products, a first-
world country might look to acquire land in a semitropical area where the crop can be grown in
abundance. This is the case for crops like coffee, cotton, or sugar.
2. Exploitation of Natural Resources
Natural resources, such as petroleum, copper, and iron are needed in industrial economies. Poor
countries are sources for these raw materials.
B. Colonialism
The search for agricultural and natural resources can lead to colonialism. Colonialism is a political-
economic arrangement under which powerful countries establish, for their own profit, rule over
weaker countries.
C. Use of Third-World Labor
A relatively new strategy is to move factories from high-wage countries to low-wage countries. A
company may choose this strategy when rising wage rates in industrial countries begin to threaten
corporate profits.
VIII. Theories of Global Social Change:
Dependency Theory
Dependency theories represent a critique of modernization theory's assumptions that poor countries
are poor because of their lack of economic, social, and cultural development. Dependency theories
argue that the poverty experienced by low-income countries is the immediate consequence of their
exploitation by wealthy countries on which they are economically dependent (Appelbaum &
Chambliss, 1997:173).
The authors argue that poor countries are "locked-in to a downward spiral of exploitation and
poverty." Andre Gunder Frank (1972) calls this the development of underdevelopment. Dependency
results when foreign businesses make important economic and political decisions for their own
advantage and without regard to the best interests of the local population. Except for a few local
businessmen who serve the interests of foreign capital, the local population becomes impoverished
(Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:173).

Is There a Third World?

Many have problems with the all-encompassing term 'third-world,' 'developing nations,' or
the 'periphery.' After all, countries link El Salvador, Cambodia, and Sierra Leone are
lumped into the same category. Obviously, these three countries share no cultural
characteristics and are physically far-removed from one another. One might suggest that
it's ridiculous to categories these countries the same.
On the other hand, El Salvador, Cambodia, and Sierra Leone as well as a host of other
developing countries do share a common relationship to the advanced industrialized
countries of the world (the first-world, developed nations, or the core). The term “third
world” may be appropriate when one discusses the common relationship that all poor
countries have with rich countries. Historically, the common relationship was colonialism.
More recently, old colonial affairs characterized by military oppression have transformed
into neocolonial relationships. In the present, military control has given way to a situation
where rich countries control poor countries through international markets. The core
determines prices for commodities and uses the poor countries as dumping grounds for
hazardous waste (see Henslin, 1999:245).
The market oriented theories have generally ignored the role of the military and of political power.
Dependency theories contend that power is central in enforcing unequal economic arrangements.
Local leaders opposed to inequitable economic arrangements are suppressed. Unionization is
outlawed. A popular government opposed to outside influence can be overthrown by the military.
Often the police and the military act, not for the needs of the masses, but rather for the economic elite
(Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:174).
A. Critique
Dependency theory is successful in explaining the lack of development experienced by some
countries (like those in Central America), but cannot account for the development that occurred in
areas like East Asia (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:174).
IX. Theories of Global Social Change:
World System Theory
Immanual Wallerstein (1974, 1979) coined the term World-System. The World-System represents a
system of international stratification. Its proponents argue that "we must understand the world
capitalist system as a single unit, not as individual countries" (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:174).
Unlike dependency theory, World system theory argues that there is room for poorer countries to
advance within the context of the world economy although this happens rarely.
A. The world economic system: Four overlapping elements:
1. The world system is a world market for goods and labor
2. The world system calls attention to a division of the world's population into economic
classes
3. The world system is an international system of formal and informal political relations
among the most powerful countries, whose competition with one another helps shape
the world economy
4. It includes a carving up of the world into unequal economic zones with the wealthier
zones exploiting the poorer zones.
B. The Three Zones of the World System are:
1. The Core
Core countries are the most advanced industrial countries and control most of the wealth in the world
economy (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:174).
2. The Periphery
The periphery consists of low-income, largely agricultural, countries. Core countries manipulate it for
the economic advantage of the core.
3. The Semiperiphery
The Semiperiphery refers to countries that occupy an intermediate position in the world economy.
They extract profit from the periphery and are simultaneously exploited by the core. The existence of
the middle (the semiperiphery) is critical, because poor countries can hope to advance at least to this
stage. With the possibility of advancement within the world system, revolutionary tendencies are
mitigated.
X. Collective Behavior
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:422) define collective behavior as a voluntary, goal-oriented
action that occurs in a relatively disorganized situation, in which society's predominant social norms
and values cease to govern individual behavior. Collective behavior consists of a groups reaction to
some situation.
The study of collective behavior is especially concerned with the behavior of people in crowds
(Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:423).
A. Crowds
Crowds are temporary gatherings of closely interacting people with a common focus. People in
crowds are prone to being swept up in group emotions and loose their ability to make rational
decisions. The group-mind is viewed as irrational and dangerous.
XI. Theories of Collective Behavior
A. Contagion Theories
Contagion theories argue that human beings revert to herd-like behavior when they get together in
large crowds. People in crowds mill about, like a group of animals, stimulating and goading one
another into movement (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:423). The acts of individuals are copied by
other individuals. A skilled leader can manipulate crowds.
B. Emergent-Norm Theories
Emergent-norm theories suggest that it is values and norms, and not unconscious process, that
prompt groups of people to act in unison. Emergent-norm theories argue that even in seemingly
chaotic crowd behavior, norms emerge that explains a crowd’s actions. While it may appear to an
observer that the group is acting in a single purpose, the individuals within the crowd may have
differing reasons for taking part (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:424).
XII. Forms of Collective Behavior
A. Riots
A riot is a prolonged outbreak of violent behavior by a large group of people that is directed against
people and property. They are spontaneous, but are motivated by a conscious set of concerns.
During a riot conventional norms are suspended and replaced by other norms developed by the
group (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:425).
B. Fads and Fashion
1. Fads
Fads are temporary, highly imitated outbreaks of mildly unconventional behavior (Appelbaum and
Chambliss, 1997:425). Fads can include "the grunge look," wearing Levis with holes in the knees, or
cramming people into a phone booth.
2. Fashion
A fashion is a somewhat long-lasting style of imitative behavior or appearance. (Appelbaum and
Chambliss, 1997:425). A fashion reflects a tension between people's desires to be different and their
desire to conform. It's very success undermines its attractiveness, so the eventual fate of all fashions
is to become unfashionable.
C. Panic and Crazes
1. Panics
A panic is a massive flight from something that is feared. The 1938 radio show "War or the Worlds" is
an example (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:426).
2. Craze
A craze is an intense attraction to an object, person, or activity (Appelbaum and Chambliss,
1997:426). An example is the cases where people flock to a region where someone is said to have
seen a deity's face.
D. Rumors
Rumors are unverified information that is transmitted informally, usually originating in an unknown
source (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:426).
Example: Allport & Postman (1947)
A white student is asked to study a photograph with one man menacing another. The student
describes the picture to another who passes the information on to a third and so forth. At some point
the information being passed along begins to reflect the commonly held beliefs of the students. As
the information spread, the message came to reflect a picture when a black man was menacing a
white man, but in fact the opposite was true.
XIII. Social Movements
A social movement is defined as a large number of people who come together in a continuing and
organized effort to bring about (or resist) social change. They rely at least partially on non
institutionalized forms of political action (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:426).
A. Reformist Movements
Reformist movements seek to bring about change within an existing economic and political system
(Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:427).
B. Revolutionary Movements
Revolutionary movements seek to alter fundamentally the existing social, political, and economic
system in keeping with a vision of a new social order (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:428).
C. Rebellions
Rebellions seek to overthrow the existing social, political, and economic system, but lack a detailed
plan for a new social order (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:428-9).
D. Reactionary Movements
Reactionary movements seek to restore an earlier social system -- often based on a mythical past --
along with the traditional norms and values that once presumably accompanied it (Appelbaum and
Chambliss, 1997:429). The term reaction is used because often these movement rise as a reaction
to some kind of unwelcome social change.
E. Communitarian Movements
Communitarian movements seek to withdraw from the dominant society by creating their own ideal
communities (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:429).
F. Anarchy
XIV. Why Do Social Movements Arise?
A. Micro-Level Studies
What motivates individuals to become active members of social movements? This material contends
that personal identification with others is a far more important indicator of who will likely join a social
movement. Psychological factors are poor indicators of participation in social movements.
1. Psychological and Personality Types
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:430) argue that psychological factors are poor indications of
whether one becomes involved in social movements. Personality type is also a poor predictor.
2. Personal Identification with Others
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:430) contend that the motivation for involvement in social
movements appears to be less related to personal gain and more related to an identification with
others.
 • Activists have prior contact with movement members
• A family background of social activism is important
• A lack of personal constraints facilitates involvement
• A since of moral rightness
B. Organizational-Level Studies
Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:430) suggests that some social movements are deliberately
organized to create social change.
1. Social Movement Organizations (SMOs)
SMOs are formal organizations that seek to achieve social change through non-institutional forms of
political action. NAACP is an example (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:430).
2. Resource Mobilization
Resource mobilization focuses on the ability of social movement organizations to generate money,
membership, and political support in order to achieve their objectives (Appelbaum and Chambliss,
1997:430).
3. Grassroots Organizing
Grassroots organization attempts to mobilize support among the ordinary members of a community
(Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:431).
4. Conscience Constituents
Conscience constituents are people who provide resources for a social movement organization but
who are not themselves members of the aggrieved group that the organization champions
(Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:431).
C. Macro-Level Studies
This section differentiates between the impact that individuals have on change from that associated
with evolving institutional structures. It acknowledges the influence of the individual, but is more
concerned with the influence of larger structures. When change occurs in structures, like the global
economy, the lives of individuals are greatly altered. The changing economy transforms the character
of social relations between people. Huge social structures anchored in history ultimately dictate the
character of day-to-day social relations.
1. Individuals Change Social Patterns
The actions of individuals, specific organizations, and specific social movements have impact on
society. Napoleon, Jesus, Lenin, and Gandhi are individuals that have had great impact on society.
Although individuals have impact on society, we tend to exaggerate what an individual can do. The
actions of individuals happen within power structures, culture, and institutions inherited from the past.
These exiting conditions make it difficult for an individual to change society substantially. Usually,
when we perceive individuals leading a population through dramatic change, the time is "ripe" for
change.
2. Broad Social Trends Change Social Patterns
Broad social trends include shifts in population, industrialization, urbanization, technology, and
bureaucratization. Modernization can explain much of the change. Modernization refers to the
process where a society moves from traditional, less developed modes of production (like agriculture)
to advanced industrial modes of production. Trends, such as population growth and urbanization,
have tremendous impact on other features of society like social structure, culture, and all the
institutions that tie society together.

Bibliography
Appelbaum, Richard P. and William J. Chambliss
1997 Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New York: Longman.

"Staggering"
Population growth is most intense in the poorest nations of the world. World Watch (in
 World Development Forum, November 15, 1988) argues that some [population] increases
projected for individual countries by World Bank Demographers are staggering. The
population of Bangladesh, now 110 million, will triple before it stabilizes. Nigeria's
population, now more than 100 million, is projected to reach 529 million before it stops
growing late in the 21st century. The forty-three million people of Ethiopia, where a
combination of soil erosion, ill-conceived agricultural policies and nonexistent family
planning programs have already led to widespread starvation, are projected to quintuple in
number. Even with heavy emigration, Mexico's current population of eighty-two million may
more than double before stabilizing.

I. What is Demography?
Demography is the study of population. It looks at everything that influences population size,
distribution, processes, and the influence that change in population has on other contemporary
issues. Major components of Demography include the following.
A. A Demographic Perspective
The demographic perspective influences the way people understand and interpret questions involving
population. Three are presented in this article (the Malthusian perspective, the Demographic
Transition model, and the Marxist perspective).
B. Population Processes
Three basic population processes include birth, death, and migration. Questions about population
processes might include: Is the population becoming older or younger? Where do people live? Where
are people migrating to and where do they come from?
C. Population Structure
Population structure addresses the relationship between population processes and demographic
characteristics of populations such as the age and sex of a given population, the race and ethnicity of
a population, their socioeconomic status, and perhaps their marital status.
D. Population and Contemporary Social Issues
Weeks (1989) explores the demographic underpinnings of several major issues confronting the world.
Weeks (6:1989) contends population growth is often incendiary in that it "ignites" other social
problems that people face. Demographic processes and structure interact with the following social
issues: Food security, women's rights, family structure, unemployment, aging, housing and
urbanization, economic development, inflation, energy, pollution and the ecosystem, literacy and
education, and finally issues about individual freedom.
II. Uses of Demography
Much sociology appears ethereal and difficult to grasp. Demography is one of the more pragmatic
areas of Sociology (See Weeks, 1996:5).
A. Demography and Business
Business can put the study of population to specific uses. If, for example, a business sells a product
that is desired by age-specific groups, that business can use the census to discover communities
where members of that age-specific group live. For example, a business may want to open an
automobile dealership that specializes in expensive sports cars. Demographic awareness could help
the potential dealer in finding neighborhoods where young and middle-aged affluent people live.
Placing a Corvette shop in a working-class community populated mainly by low-income middle-aged
and elderly people could be disastrous.
B. Demography and Government
Demography is also an essential tool used in ensuring equal representation in Congress. Population
distribution determines the makeup of the House of Representatives. As people move from one state
to another, the makeup of the House of Representatives changes (See Weeks, 1996:10-11). The last
reapportionment occurred in 2000 at the Federal level. Sunbelt states gained seats in congress while
Rust-belt states lost seats. Assuming the South continues to vote Republican, reapportionment could
help the Republicans gain seats in the House of Representatives in the next decade.
C. Allocation of Money for Social Services:
This point also pertains to the relationship between Demography and the Government (part B). Given
that it is important for the allocation of money to poor people, one can understand why disadvantaged
groups in society are at a farther disadvantage when the Census Bureau under counts those
populations.
III. The Baby Boom
A. What is the Baby Boom?
The baby boom represents a demographic event that is well-documented and which has had, and
which will continue to have, significant impact on American society (see Weeks, 1996:157-158). The
baby boom began in the late 1940s and continued through the 1950s. Although it ended in the 1960s,
the baby boom still influences the structure of the population as well as an array of social institutions.
Furthermore, its effects will echo far into the future.
B. What caused the baby boom?
The baby boom occurred because of three events.
1. People postponed having children during the great depression. The depression was not a good
time to have children given that more than 25 percent of the population was unemployed.
2. Later, people were forced to postpone childbearing because of World War II. Many men were
out of the country and the economy was still not conducive to encourage child birth. At the end of the
war, the men came home and the economy boomed. People who had postponed having children
during the great depression and during the war decided it was a good time to have children.
3. Further, given the robust state of the American economy, people who would normally have had
children during the 1950s had more children than usual.
C. The Impact of the Baby Boom on Social Structure
The impact of the baby boom was felt in all age-specific institutions in America. Initially the increase
in newborn babies swamped hospital maternity wards. Within five years of the beginning of the baby
boom, schools became overcrowded with new children. The same thing happened to colleges and,
finally, the job market. By the year 2010, Social Security could also be overwhelmed with the same
surge of people that began moving through the population of our society in the late 1940s.
D. A Baby Recession?
After the baby boom generation has passed a particular social institution specifically oriented toward
age (like school), a recession of sorts occurs. Initially, organizations, like schools, had to catch up.
The government undertook massive school building programs. The baby boom required the training
of hundreds of new teachers on short notice. After the "baby boomers" had moved through their
elementary school years, there were too many teachers and too many schools. (Note: the present
teacher shortage is not related to the baby boom phenomenon.)
E. Baby Boomlets and Echo Effects
Furthermore, baby boomlets (also called "echo effects") can be expected for the next few generations
to come (weeks, 1996:1580159). The effects of the baby boomlets will not be as dramatic as the "big
boom," but will cause headaches for urban planners as they try to cope with a fluctuating population.
Dramatic changes in population structure can influence the economy and the environment as well.
Changes in the population can create new markets. It can affect pollution, housing, energy
availability, living space, and ultimately freedom.
IV. Three Demographic Variables
QUESTION: How does population change?
The population changes in accordance with three demographic variables: Fertility, mortality, and
migration. Population growth or decline in a society is influenced by the birth rate, the death rate, and
the migration rate.
 Crude Birth Rate
The Crude Birth Rate is the number of births per year per 1000 people. Demographers
can use this measure to estimate population growth.
Crude Death Rate
The amount of death in a society can be estimated using the Crude Death Rate which is
the number of deaths per year per 1000 people.
Life Expectancy
Life expectancy is the average number of years a person can expect to live given the
current mortality levels.
Average Age
The average age of a population is determined by adding up the ages of each individual in
a population and dividing that sum by the number of people in a population.

A. Fertility
Fertility explores the level of reproduction in a society. It refers to the number of children born to a
woman.
Fecundity refers to the physical ability to reproduce.
Demographers distinguish between population increases that happen because of fertility (or natural
increase) and increases that happen because of migration. Keep in mind that population growth will
be negative if more people are dying that are being born.
The populations of some countries in Europe have entered a negative growth period. Their
populations are declining because of changes in fertility patterns. Women are not having children at
the replacement rate. Each man and woman needs to reproduce themselves to maintain a stable
population. On the other hand some countries are highly pronatalist (e.g., Iraq).
B. Mortality
The second demographic variable, mortality, refers to dying. This discussion includes a historic
component, an age component, and a genetic (sex linked) component.
1. The Historic Component
a. Disease
Historically, disease determined mortality levels. In the U.S. during the 1800s the major cause of
death was disease, such as smallpox or the plague. Today, because of better health conditions and
better medical care, disease has ceased to be an important issue (except in the realm of AIDS).
b. Degenerative
The major causes of death are now degenerative problems like heart disease.
QUESTION: Death associated with cancer is on the rise. Why is the number of deaths attributable to
cancer increasing?
People are going to die because of something. When a society controls death in other areas (e.g.,
disease and heart attack), then the population will die from those ailments that have not been
controlled (e.g., cancer)
2. Age Related:
Age impacts mortality levels early and late in life. Congenital health problems influence morality rates
early in life.
a. The Very Young
Death rates for infants are higher than death rates for older children. One explanation is that infants
are less resistant to disease.

Example: Infant Mortality in the United States

The Hunger Project (Hunger Action Forum, October 1988) points out that
infant mortality is not a health problem, it is a social problem with health
 consequences. The U.S. ranks 19th among industrialized countries in infant
mortality. Each year 40,000 infants die and 11,000 are born with low birth
weights and long-term disabilities.
Europeans are much more successful in lowering their infant mortality
rates. Differences between Europe and the U.S. in care of infants involve
social programs in all countries. Europe has paid maternity leave (in West
Germany and Norway fathers can take the maternity leave). There are also
stringent limits placed on the types of working conditions pregnant women
are allowed to work in. The state also provides maternity grants to families
upon the birth of a child.
Such programs are initially expensive, but ultimately save money in terms
of potential expensive health care in future and services to the
developmentally disabled whose condition is linked to poor pre- and post-
natal care.
Note: Infant Mortality Rate equals the number of deaths to people less than
one year old per 1000 born.
QUESTION: When life expectancy rates increase, the average age of the population might become
younger. WHY?
When life expectancy increases, it does so because death is controlled at the beginning of life.
Babies will live longer, but all those babies will bring down the average age of the population.
b. Teenagers
Teens tend to die from accidents
c. The Elderly
The elderly suffer from degenerative problems.
3. Mortality Rates and Differences in Gender
Men have lower life expectancy rates than women, but the gap is narrowing slightly. Several aspects
drive differences in mortality rates between men and women.
QUESTION: Why do women out-live men?
• Men suffer more from congenital defects.
• Male children are also less resistant to disease.
• Males engage in more bad habits.
• Males neglect their health more than women. Men drink and smoke more. Men
are also generally more stressed out than women.

The Declining Birth Rates for Boys

Science News (April 4, 1998: 212) notes that there are 125 boys conceived
for every 100 girls. Only 106 boys are born for every 100 girls. Stillbirths
and miscarriages, therefore, disproportionately cull boys."
Recent trends in sex-ratios suggest that the number of boys born, as a
proportion of girls, is on the decrease. Canada experienced a drop of 2.8
male births per 1000 births. The trend in the United States was more like a
drop of 1 male birth per 1000 births. Holland and Denmark have reported
similar trends.
Science News argues that this trend can be explained by looking at the
environment. Fertility stimulating drugs can account for a small part of the
increase in female births. The real culprits are probably "ubiquitous
hormone-like pollutants" like Dioxin. Science News makes reference to an
industrial accident in Seveso, Italy in 1976. After that accident 12 daughters
and no sons were born to parents who had a high level of Dioxin in their
 blood.

C. Migration
The third way population's change is by migration. In the United States, migration refers to any
permanent change of residence outside the county in which an individual currently resides. An
American migrates an average of seven times during his or her life. From 1970 to 1980, 41 percent of
all Americans migrated at least once.
QUESTION: What is the difference between emigration and immigration?
Immigration refers to people moving in and emigration refers to people moving out.
QUESTION: Why do people move?
People move for jobs more than any other reason.
QUESTION: Who Moves?
Young people between the ages of 20 and 30 are the most Mobil.
QUESTION: What is the educational level of people who migrate?
Compared to the people in a population who don't migrate, migrants a have higher levels of
education.
QUESTION: What is the motivational level of people who migrate vs. those who do not?
Obviously, people who move are more motivated than those who do not.
QUESTION: How does out migration affect the donor area?
The donor area is adversely affected. They lose young, motivated, and education people. Plus the
donor area loses the investment in those individuals. It costs the community resources to raise a
young, motivated, educated worker. The community loses that investment.
QUESTION: How does in migration affect the recipient area?
The recipient area gets a young, motivated, and educated citizen and has to pay nothing for that
person's development.
QUESTION: What is the flow of migration within the United States?
People move from North to South, from the center of the country to the periphery, and the U.S. is
experiencing slight de-urbanization as people move from the city to the suburbs and as elderly people
move to rural areas to retire.
QUESTION: True or false, the 1980s have seen the greatest level of immigration in the past 100
years.
False! The U.S. had greater numbers of immigrants from 1900 to 1910 than in the 1980s. Further,
the U.S. population was much smaller that it is now, so the proportion of the population that were of
immigrant stock was nearly double current levels.
V. Demographic Perspectives
Demographic perspectives are ways of relating basic population information to theories about how
the world operates demographically. Demographic perspectives affect the way we interpret the
relationships between populations factors such as size, distributions, age structures, and growth.
Demographic perspectives are concerned with the causes of population growth and the
consequences of that growth.
A. The Malthusian Prospective
1. Causes of Population Growth
Thomas Malthus was a minister who used religious teachings to build his population policy. He
believed that people have an innate urge that impels them to reproduce. According to Malthus, if
people did not learn to control their vices then overpopulation would occur and bring on the fall of
humanity. Malthus felt that if population growth remained unchecked, human beings could populate
millions of worlds in a few thousand years (see Weeks, 1996:63-69).
There are two solutions for controlling population. Malthus calls them "checks." There are preventive
checks and positive checks.
a. Preventive Checks
Preventive checks would include abstinence from sexual intercourse and postponing marriage until
after twenty-five years old. Malthus would not condone modern birth control techniques. The only
appropriate method of birth control was postponing marriage and abstaining from sex.
b. Positive Checks:
Positive checks would include war, famine, pestilence, and disease (Sounds like the four horsemen!).
Food production (or lack of it) is a central positive check. Populations, according to Malthus, expand
geometrically. Food production at best expands arithmetically. At this rate, population growth rapidly
outstrips food supplies.
2. Consequences of Population Growth: Poverty
For Malthus, the natural consequence of population growth was misery, starvation, and poverty, but if
people remained poor it was their own fault.
3. Avoiding the Consequences
Malthus thought if the poor were allowed to feel the "great pain" of poverty, then the poor would take
steps to avoid the "great pain" by having smaller families. He was totally against welfare programs
because welfare would prevent the poor from feeling the "great pain" of poverty.
4. Critiques of Malthus
Critics of Malthus focus on primarily three aspects of Malthusian theory.
a. Food Production and Population Growth
Noting that Malthus lived at the beginning of the industrial revolution is important. He had no way of
knowing that industrialization would provide the ability to mass produce food. He personally had little
faith in the longevity of the industrial revolution.
b. Moral Restraint
The implied assumption embedded in the moral restraint doctrine of Malthus is that the poor are the
ones who are immoral and the rich are not.
An interesting and unintended consequence of Malthusian doctrine is that it helped spread the
knowledge of contraceptives although he was against it.
c. Is Poverty Inevitable?
Poverty is the cause of overpopulation, not the consequence. Economic development reduces
population because people no longer have to depend, exclusively, upon their children for social
support. Improving economic status decreases' population growth.
5. Modern Malthusians
Modern Malthusians, such as Paul Ehrlick, the author of The Population Bomb, are more open toward
the idea of "the pill" and abortion. Rather than moral restraint, modern Malthusians might advocate a
variation called prudent restraint. For example, modern Malthusians might advocate waiting to have a
family until one can afford it.
B. Demographic Transition
1. The Three Phases of Demographic Transition
One of the most popular population theories is demographic transition (Weeks, 1996:77-80). It is a
model that explains population dynamics of European / American industrial societies. It traditionally is
presented in three phases. As a society industrializes, birth rates will decline because children in an
industrial society present more of an economic burden to their parents when compared to children in
preindustrial society.
a. Phase One:
High birth and high death rates characterize the first phase of Demographic Transition. Examples of
nations that are in the first phase are Ethiopia, Angola, and Nigeria.
b. Phase Two:
High birth rates also characterize the second phase of demographic transition, but so do low death
rates. Death rates decline because of better health conditions, improved medicine, better food, etc.
Nations that are in the second phase include most of today's Third World countries. Rapid population
growth characterizes this phase.
c. Phase Three:
Low birth rates, low death rates, and a stable population characterize the third phase. This phase
includes most of Europe, Japan and The United States. Parents are encouraged to keep families
small, in part, because children become an economic burden in advanced industrial societies.
People are less dependent on their children as a personal labor force. Later in life, the state provides
for social security.
2. Demographic Transition: An Economic Explanation of Population Dynamics
Demographic Transition is a population theory that relates economic development to patterns of
population growth. The general position of Demographic Transition is that if people feel economically
secure, then the population growth will slow. In other words, through industrialization, people obtain a
better standard of living and a better standard of living encourages smaller families. To pass the
"good life" on to their children, parents keep their families small. It makes sense! (Middle-class
necessities, like a university education, are expensive. Therefore, families with several children find it
more difficult to send all of their children to college.
For much of the industrial world, the demographic transition model may be a good predictor of how
populations in the world change. There are signs, however, that much of the Third World is not
following the industrialized nations into the final phase of Demographic Transition. Some nations have
gotten "stuck" in the second phase. Countries that continue to experience high birth rates and low
death rates might drop back into the first phase that means that death rates will go up dramatically.
C. Marxist Perspectives on Population Growth
1. A Response to Malthus
Marxists are specially resisted the anti-humanitarian aspects of Malthus (see Weeks, 1996:69-72).
2. No Eternal Laws of Population Dynamics
Marxists, who theorize about population, tend to argue there are no eternal or natural laws that
govern population growth. According to Marxists, each society has its own laws of population
dynamics.
3. Population and Poverty
According to the Marxist perspective the idea of limiting population is a capitalist idea in the first
place. Limiting population becomes necessary because so much wealth comes to be concentrated in
the hands of a few. Only in capitalist societies does population growth yields overpopulation and
poverty. They argue that capitalism, not too many people, causes social problems like poverty.
In an efficient socialist state, more people should yield more wealth. Engels maintained that each
birth meant that there were two more hands to produce for society. Advances in science and
technology should enable food supplies to keep up with population growth.

Example: India and China

India and China represent two societies where, despite their being the
largest countries in terms of population on earth, they have moved from the
brink of starvation to near self-sufficiency in grain.

VI. Structural Considerations Affecting Population Policy

A. What is Dependency?
Demographers make the assumption that most of the people between the ages of fifteen and sixty-
five are working and that people between the ages of zero to fifteen and sixty-five and over are
dependent on those who work. People view children and the elderly as dependent on those who work
(Weeks, 1996:257).
B. Dependency within the Family
Compare two families with equal resources. One family, however, has two children while the other
family has ten children. The family with ten children has to spend more of the family resources on
providing essentials for the family's survival (food, shelter, etc.). A smaller family does not have to
spend as much as the larger family on necessities. The extra money can be used to build security
(savings account, a new car, new house).
C. Dependency at a National Level: Dependency Ratios
Nation states experience the same problems that families do when the number of dependents in the
population is too large compared to the number of people who are available to support those
dependents. Dependency ratios describe the relationship between workers and dependents. In
countries with high rates of dependency, money that should be directed toward building an
infrastructure has to go toward feeding babies and supporting an excess population. In Third-World
settings factories are needed to hire the unemployed. High dependency ratios mean that money is
being directed toward support of dependents and not toward the development of the infrastructure.
What infrastructure that is already in place experiences even greater strain as population pressure
increases.

(Dependency Ratio = Dependents / Workers)

Example: Dependency in the U.S. and Mexico
In the 1980s, forty percent of Mexico's population is less than fifteen years old. The
dependency ratio is an index used to measure the social and economic impact of
different age structures (See Weeks, 1981:188). Dividing the dependent population by
the working population determines it. In 1980, the dependency ratio for Mexico is .88.
The dependency ratio for the United States is .52.
Example: Asians in America
Why do Asian-Americans prosper? They have small families and spend heavily on
each child for things like a college education.

D. Small vs. Large

Notice the problem that a country with a large population has in bringing its population under control.
This calls attention to the Rate Vs. Base issue in demographics. Population growth rates have to
come down, but in some countries, the base is so large that population continues to expand. People
tend to be lulled into quietude because the rates have dropped, but the base remains large.
In China, a one percent annual growth rate in the population adds ten million people per year to the
population. If a country like Nicaragua, on the other hand, which has a population of only two million,
a growth rate as high as 10 percent would only add 200,000 to the population.
E. Zero Population Growth (ZPG): Now vs. Later (1.8 kids/family =ZPG)
ZPG is achieved when births and immigration = deaths and emigration (See Weeks,
1996:279-288)
Why doesn't a country, like China, simply outlaw births for five or ten years? Such a move would
reduce population size immediately, but it would adversely affect other social structures. Remember
the Baby Boom example. Shock waves of population have negative effects on the rest of the social
structure.
QUESTION: What if China was to outlaw babies for five years? What would that do to their social
structure?
The Chinese social structure would be overwhelmed, much as the U.S. social structure was during
the 1950s. The effect, however, would be more pronounced. First institutions would suffer a baby
recession as no babies would enter the population for five years. There would be no first grades for
five years, high schools would be completely without students for a couple of years, and the military
would have no new recruits for five years. Then after the baby-ban is lifted, everyone would have
kids producing a baby boom. The method of slowing bringing down the birth rate is probably the
most effective long-term strategy.
VII. Cultural Factors Affecting Population Policy
Despite tremendous population pressures in the world, a variety of culture factors act to keep birth
rates high. Cultural factors that might act to mitigate population control efforts include:
A. Distrust of Doctors
Family planning efforts inevitable involve visits to clinics and doctors. In many developing countries,
doctors are rare. Many doctors that are present are from first-world countries.
B. Ignorance of Biological Facts
In order to prevent births (assuming one wants to), potential parents have to be aware of the
biological process that creates babies in the first place.
C. A Desire for Sons
The desire for sons is a major impediment to birth control programs.
• In many countries, inheritance is left for male children only.
• Male children carry on the family name.
• Male children are a ready-made work force (girls may work, but once they marry, they
go with their husband's family).
• Male children are the social security for the elderly.
D. The Emotional Conditioning of the Male
In many cases large families equal status for the males. A large family is living proof of the virility of
the male.
E. A General Problem
People act, not for the good of society, but for their own immediate needs. In order for a population
policy to be effective, individuals have to be convinced that they (and their family) will benefit.
VIII. Population and Poverty
Population growth in the Third World threatens to exceed the carrying capacity and overwhelm gains
achieved through economic growth. The United Nation predicts that the population in areas like
Central America will increase 120 percent over the next thirty years. The population density of El
Salvador is nearly as great as that of India. According to the Population Reference Bureau (1998), the
density per square mile in El Salvador while it stands at 861 in India. Rapid population growth inhibits
economic development. As population increases, income must grow just to maintain current
standards of living. If population growth exceeds economic development, standards of living fall. In
this respect population growth causes poverty.
Nancy Birdsall (1980) of the World Bank acknowledges that high population growth increases the
incidence of poverty, but she argues that, in more dramatic fashion, poverty encourages population
growth.
• Large families are necessary for the poor because the poor cannot count on support from the
economy.
• Poverty tends to increase infant mortality, which in turn increase the desire to have large
families.
• Large families also occur because of individual ignorance, another human attribute that is
attributable to poverty.
A. Economic Growth Causes Birth Rates to Decline
Economic growth may be a key to reducing both poverty and population growth. Economic growth
encourages what Birdsall (1980) calls a "fortuitous cycle" in that living standards improve and
population growth rates decline.
B. The Malthusian Trap
Unfortunately if income growth does not keep up with population growth, the fortuitous cycle may turn
vicious. World Watch (1987) doubts the ability of the world to continue rapid economic expansion.
Kingsly Davis (in PTPP, 1983) argues that given the present state of Third World population growth, it
is already too late to address population growth through economic development. Merrick (1986)
warns of a "Malthusian trap." Malthus warned a couple of hundred years ago that if people did not
control population through preventative check, the population problem would be dealt with through
positive checks. Positive checks are called positive, not because they are desirable, but because
they work. War, famine, pestilence, and disease will reduce population size. Humanity encounters
the Malthusian trap when the population becomes so large that "prevention" is no longer possible in
bringing population growth under control. The only solution then is the positive check on population.
The population growth rate, according to Merrick, is already too great. There are no more frontiers
that can absorb excess population. If this scenario is correct, death rates should begin to rise in
countries where population growth out paces the economy (See Africa).

Example: Where Do We Control Population?

Third World countries have many more people than do First World Countries. However,
First World Countries often consume more resources than do Third World Countries. India
has over a billion people while the U.S. has only 300 million people. Indians per capita,
however, consume 1/16 the resources that Americas consume. Each American added to
the world population has a greater impact on the ecology of the planet than each Asian that
is added. The reason is that Americans consume many times more resources than Asians.
In terms on conserving resources perhaps population growth is more detrimental to the
environment in First World countries.

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Send comments and questions to me via e-mail: rlong@delmar.edu