2. What is Sociology?
• Socius (Latin) = ‘associate’ as in society;
• logy (Greek) = ‘study’ of
SOCIO-LOGY = the study of SOCIETY.
3. What is Sociology?
• Definition: Sociology is the scientific study of
interactions and relations among human beings.
– Sociology studies and explains how people influence one
another.
– Sociology studies and explains the intended and
unintended consequences of human interaction.
5. “Men make their own history,
but they do not make it as they
please; they do not make it
under self-selected
circumstances, but under
circumstances existing already,
given and transmitted from the
past. The tradition of all dead
generations weighs like a
nightmare on the brains of the
living.”
Karl Marx
(1818-1883)
6. The Sociological Imagination
“Neither the life of an individual
nor the history of a society can
be understood without
understanding both.”
C. Wright Mills
(1916-1962)
7. What is Sociology?
• Sociology studies the PATTERNS that people
generate as they interact, influence, and relate to
one another.
• In short:
THINK PATTERNS, NOT PEOPLE!
(at least not individual people)
8. HOMOPHILY
• HOMOPHILY is the tendency for more similar
people to interact more frequently, and for
people who interact more frequently to
become more similar.
Similarity
Interaction
9. HOMOPHILY
• HOMOPHILY = SIMILARITY: Like Attracts Like
• People *like* those who are *like* themselves.
• “Birds of a feather flock together”
10. HOMOPHILY
• NOTES:
– Similar in what respect? How do we measure similarity?
– Homophily is based on perceived similarity. People tend to
gravitate towards others that they perceive as similar to
them in some important or salient characteristic.
11. HOMOPHILY
• Examples:
– 1987 Study, only 8% of people in US have
someone of another race that they “discuss
important matters with”
– 2006 study: Interracial marriages. 1% of white
marriages, 5% of black marriages, 14% of Asian
marriages.
– Closest friend: 10% of men name a woman; 37%
of women name a man.
12. Two paths to Homophily
• SORTING- occurs when people actively seek out
and socialize with people who are similar to
them in some respect. SELECTION.
• PEER Influence- occurs when people become
more similar to the people they spend the most
time with, over time. INFLUENCE.
SORTING
Similarity
Interaction
INFLUENCE
22. Unintended Sorting?
• Neighborhood Sorting:
Thomas Schelling (2005
Nobel Prize winner)
showed that macro-level
segregation would arise
from micro-level tolerance,
so long as individuals
prefer to live adjacent to
some neighbors similar to
them.
Thomas Schelling
23. Unintended Sorting?
• Imagine a city as a giant checkerboard, and suppose each piece wants
30% of its neighbors to be the same kind.
• A few, with more than 30% of its neighbors of a different kind, will
move.
• Two effects of initial relocations:
1. other checkers of the same color from old neighborhood will also
want to move
2. other checkers of different color in new neighborhood will want to
move
31. Social Influence
There are many types of social influence. Consider a
standing ovation…
• We usually do not decide whether to stand or sit
based on our own independent evaluations…
• Instead, we often imitate what others are doing!
32. Social Influence
Consider applause more generally…
• Here the goal is to coordinate with others so that
everyone is clapping at the same time and
people are not clapping by themselves.
Editor's Notes
Here are some definitions found in textbooks on sociology [You do not need to remember these!]:“Scientific study of ‘Society’” [But what is ‘society’?]“systematic study of human groups.”“scientific study of human groups”“scientific study of human behavior, social groups, and society”“systematic study of society and human behavior.”
If we assume homogeneity of preferences (i.e. each individual has the same threshold dissatisfaction, say 30%), then about as many new moves are caused as the number of initial moves, displacements. We get significantly more sorting or segregation than any particular individual wanted! The amount of segregation goes up even more, however, if we assume heterogeneity, i.e. each person has a different movement rule.
The cat and the dog here are clearly communicating something, namely their emotional states, and we can infer what might have caused those emotional states, but they are not engaging in symbolic or referential communication, to be defined below.
The generic categories of predator calls seem to be innate, but the specific vocalizations are learned.Oddly, there seems to be more referential or symbolic vocalizations found in monkeys than in apes, at least in the wild. Little research has been done, however, on gestural communication (like body posture, hand signals, etc.) of apes in the wild.
#2. For example: a rate genetic defect that prevents people from metabolizing copper can lead normal lives by taking medication that helps them get rid of the copper.#3The two social traits that have the highest resemblance between parents and children are: religious sect, and political party. Is there are gene for Episcopalianism??? Or for voting Republican??? (Nor does ‘genetic’ necessarily mean inherited! Although it usually does. Things in the environment, like radiation, or diet, can actually cause changes in genes and genetic expression!)
Nor does ‘genetic’ necessarily mean inherited! Although it usually does. Things in the environment, like radiation, or diet, can actually cause changes in genes and genetic expression!
The ‘triple helix’ model is a visual metaphor depicting how three variables can interact with one another.