INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

What is sociology?
-Is the systematic study of social behavior and human groups. It focuses primarily on the
influence of social relationships upon people’s attitudes and behavior and on how
societies are established and change.
-sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies- Giddents.
-sociology is the systematic study of groups and societies human build and the way these
alliances affect our behaviors- Gells.
-sociology is the scientific study of human societies and human behavior in the many
groups that make up society- Kornblum.

Subject matter of sociology

Sociologists are concerned with the external sources of behavior as opposed to
psychologists who look inside for the same.
- sociology starts with the premise that human beings are social beings. We are who we
are partly due to the society we are in.
-It studies social institutions in their current and historical contexts and how these affect
individuals eg family, government, education, religion etc
-It also studies change in these institutions and the society at large.
-It is concerned with social structure, stratification, class inequalities etc.
- it has an extremely broad scope, eg families, gangs, business firms, political parties,
schools, religions and labor unions. It is concerned with love, poverty, conformity,
discrimination, illness, alienation, overpopulation, and community.
Newspapers, tv, and radio are the usual sources of information about such groups and
problems. However, while the basic function of journalists is to report the news,
sociologists bring a different type of understanding to such issues. The vision of
sociology involves seeing through the outside appearances of people’s actions and
organizations (Berger, 1963:31-37).

Sociology and common sense.

Sociology studies common day-to-day phenomenon. In a way, we are all sociologists as

we try to make sense of our day to day social experiences. The major way we do this is
through what sociologists call the common sense. It is the body of knowledge that is
common knowledge to us and we use it in our day to day encounters.
For example, the stereotypes that people in Kenya hold regarding other tribes. Common
sense rarely takes into account all variables involved in an issue but is based on
assumptions and stereotypes. It sometimes confirms what common knowledge is and
sometimes disapproves it.

The role of sociology in the society.

To understand the world in which you live in and your place in that world, you often use
sociological theories and findings.

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a) To increase knowledge on social issues and to challenge common public perceptions
through empirical research, eg media reports may indicate an increase in crime even
after the police force has mounted a vigorous information campaign , the community
policing strategy. The truth could be that people become more aware of the need to report
crime even the rarely reported crime such as rape.
b) Identify social problems-sociology seeks to identify he causes of social problems such
as suicide, sexual violence etc.
c) Designing solutions to social problems. Social research helps in policy formulation for
purposes of bringing change.
d) Planning- social research enables proper planning by identifying possible
consequences of an activity. Social Impact Analysis (SIA) is part of project planning
processes eg moving people from ancestral land to make way for projects could lead to
long term social problems. There are things people cannot do in their ancestral lands for
fear of spirits but will start to do them as soon as they are displaced.

One major goal of sociology is to identify underlying, recurring patterns of and

influences on social behavior. Eg sociologists study the passionate desire of movie or
rock music fans to see in person, to talk with, even to grab the clothing of a star. Why do
people feel this need so powerful? To what extent does participation in crowd of fans
allow individuals to act more boldly that otherwise might? Will people gain greater
respect from family members or friends if they have shaken hands with a star and
exchanged three sentences of conversation?
Sociology goes beyond identifying patterns of social behavior; it also attempts to provide
explanation for such patterns.

The sociological imagination.

In attempting to understand social behavior, sociologists rely on an unusual type of
creative thinking. C. Wright Mills (1959) described such thinking as the sociological
imagination-an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider
society. This awareness allows people ( not simply sociologists) to comprehend the links
between their immediate, personal social settings and the remote, impersonal social world
that surrounds them and helps to shape them.

A key element in the sociological imagination is the ability to view one’s own society as
an outsider world, rather than from the limited perspective of personal experiences and
cultural biases. Thus, instead of simply accepting the fact that movie stars and rock stars
are the “royalty” of our society, we could ask, in a more critical sense, why this is the
case. Sociological imagination can bring new understanding to daily life around us.

Sociology and the social sciences.

-Sociology can be considered a science. The term science refers to the body of
knowledge obtained by methods based upon systematic observation. Like other scientific
disciplines, sociology engages in organized, systematic study of phenomena (in this case,
human behavior) in order to enhance understanding. All scientists attempt to collect
precise information through methods of study which are as objective as possible. They
rely on careful recording of observations and accumulation of data.

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However, the sciences are commonly divided into natural and social sciences. Natural
science is the study of the physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact
and change. Eg astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, and physics are all natural
sciences. Social science is the study of various aspects of human society. This includes
sociology, anthropology, economics, history, psychology, and political science.

These academic disciplines have a common focus on the social behavior of people, yet
each has a particular orientation in studying such behavior. Anthropologists usually study
cultures of the past and preindustrial societies that remain in existence today, as well as
the origins of men and women; this knowledge is used to examine contemporary
societies, including even industrial societies.

Economists explore the ways in which people produce and exchange goods and services,
along with money and other resources. Historians are concerned with the peoples and
events of the past and their significance for us today. Political scientists study
international relations, the workings of government, and the exercise of power and
authority. Psychologists investigate personality and individual. In contrast to other social
sciences, sociology emphasizes the influence that society has on people’s attitudes and
behavior and the ways in which people shape society. Humans are social animals;
therefore, sociologists scientifically examine our social relationships with people.

NB like other social scientists, sociologists do not accept something as a fact because
“everyone knows it”. Instead, each piece of information must be tested and recorded, then
analyzed in relationship to other data. Sociology relies on scientific studies in order to
describe and understand a social environment. At times the findings of sociologists may
seem like common sense because they deal with facets of everyday life. Yet it is
important to stress that such findings have been tested by researchers.

What is sociological theory

Sociologists examine the social forces that influence people in deciding why an event
occurs, eg whether to attempt suicide. To undertake such research, sociologists develop
theories that offer a general explanation of some type of behavior.

Theories can be regarded as attempts to explain events, forces, materials, ideas, or

behavior in comprehensive manner. Within sociology, a theory is a set of statements that
seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior. An effective theory may have both
explanatory and predictive power. It can help us to develop a broad and integrated view
of the relationships among seemingly isolated phenomena as well as to understand how
one type of change in an environment leads to others.

ORIGIN OF SOCIOLOGY

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Sociology was born in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a period of
sweeping social change in western societies. The world that Europeans had known for
centuries was disappearing and the “modern era” had began.

Before the 18th century, most Europeans lived in agricultural villages. They lived as a
community, with a king and every villager knew every other and minded else’s business.
Nearly everybody attended the same church. Travel was rare;
The family was the heart of the family life, providing and caring for its own. Home
served as a combination storehouse, workshop, school, hospital and old age home. Nearly
all families were farmers, though most did not own the land they worked. Rather, they
rented from a landlord (often member of the aristocracy- upper class, landlords) under
agreements dating back centuries.
This social order was thought to be ordained by God and was seldom /rarely questioned.
A few people were born to rule, while the great majority were born to toil. Fathers had
authority over their families, landlords over their tenants, and monarchs/rulers over all
their subjects. People knew their duty and their place. Little changed from generation to
generation.

Though some long –term changes were always taking place, they were generally slow
and not very visible to ordinary people. In a few places, the 16th and 17th centuries
brought the seeds of modern life. The protestant Reformation encouraged new ideas, and
agricultural improvements brought a higher standard of living. But most everyday
purposes, people could still predict the future from the past.

Change gathered speed in early modern Europe. Scientific thinking and research, new
inventions, the growth of cities, and the conquest of colonies were all important. But it
took two dramatic political events in the 18th century to really shock people into realizing
how the traditional social order had been challenged.

The American and French revolutions showed that old notions of duty, tradition, and
submission to authority were being replaced with new ideas of individual rights, equality,
and freedom, threatening monarchs everywhere.
At the same time, a new class of capitalist entrepreneurs was gaining wealth and power,
pushing aside the old landed aristocracy. The political term revolution was soon applied
to these rapid social and economic changes.

The industrial revolution altered both the physical and the social landscape. In the 19th
century, factories were built, coal mines opened, and railroads and telegraph lines laid,
destroying the isolation that had sheltered traditional agricultural communities. pushed by
inventions that reduced the need for farm labor, and pulled by the lure of wages, people
left their ancestral villages in ever-increasing numbers. Factory towns appeared almost
overnight, and urban populations mushroomed.

Traditional social relationships were torn apart in the process. Social interaction in
factory towns was far more impersonal than in small rural villages. Often people did not

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know many of their neighbors and co-workers, much less face-to face dealings with their
employers. Machine production put many people out of work.

In addition to sweeping changes at home, the growth of colonial empires and

international trade brought Europeans into contact with peoples whose customs and
values
were quite different from their own. Most Europeans believed that their own culture was
clearly superior. They believed that there were rational creatures while others were slaves
to superstition or to primitive, animal passions. But scholars were perplexed by cultural
diversity. Where had, European civilization come from, and where was it headed?

It was from this social and intellectual turmoil that sociology was born. Common sense
explanations of world, based on experience, no longer applied. Social philosophy, which
dealt with what society should be like, could not explain what was currently happening in
the real world. What governments, businesses, and ordinary citizens needed was a
science of society – a large body of information put into perspective by systematically
tested theories that would help them understands and adapt to the modern era. And so a
new discipline –which the pioneering French thinker Auguste Comte (1798-1557) called
sociology – came into being.

The rise of scientific thinking was itself one of the major social changes in Europe. The
early sociologists were both part of the scientific tide that was sweeping Europe and
observers of it. Adapting ideas and methods from physical sciences, they gathered
empirical data and constructed theories that are still influential today. They developed
key concepts of social structure, social action, functional integration, power and culture.

i) social structures- refers to patterns of social relationships eg marriage,

employment) or social positions eg priest, president) and numbers of people ( age of the
youth), rich vs poor.
ii) Social action (or just action) exist to the extent that people’s behavior is based
on meaningful understanding of what they do, and respond toward the actions of others.

Iii functional integration – refers to the interdependence among the parts of a social
system. How each part contributes to make the whole system work…..for skilled people,
schools depends of government for provision of financial support and government

depend on armies for national defense.

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iv) Power- ability to influence others to do your will

-can be forceful

-power can be exercised in a personal relationship eg husband dominates the

wife…

- Attempts to exercise power may meet resistance results to conflict or the clash
of powers. Despite the potential for conflict, the exercise of power can bind people
together.

v) culture- is the language, norms, values, beliefs, knowledge and symbols that
make up a way of life.

-Describes the distinctive way of life of a people or nation.

THE FAMILY

A family can be defined as a set of people related by blood, marriage (or some other
agreed-upon relationship), or adoption who share the primary responsibility for
reproduction and caring for members of society. The family as a social institution is
present in all cultures.

Composition: what is the family?

Nuclear family – this type of family serves as the nucleus or core upon which larger
family groups are built. Consists of parents and children.

Extended family- relatives in addition to parents and children.

Monogamy- describes a form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married
only to each other.

Serial monogamy- a person is allowed to have several spouses in his or her life but can
have only one spouse at a time.

Polygamy- an individual is allowed to have several husbands or wives simultaneously.

Most societies throughout the world past and present have preferred polygamy, not
monogamy. Two types of polygamy-
(i) polygyny refer to the marriage of a man to more than one woman at the same time.
The various wives are often sisters, who are expected to hold similar values and have

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already had experience sharing a household. In polygamous societies, relatively few men
actually have multiple spouses.

(ii) Polyandry, under which a woman can have several husbands at the same time. Eg
culture of the Todas in southern India. It is rare, it has been accepted by some extremely
poor societies which practice female infanticide (killing of baby girls) and thus have a
relatively small number of women. Like many other societies, polyandrous cultures
devalue the social worth of women.

To whom are we related.

We can trace our roots by listening to elderly family members tell us about their lives –
and about the lives of ancestors who died long before we were even born. A person’s
lineage is more than simply a personal history; it also reflects societal patterns that
govern descent. In every culture, children are introduced to relatives to whom they are
expected to show an emotional attachment. The state of being related to others is called
kinship. Kinship is culturally learned and in not totally determined by biological or
marital ties eg adoption creates a kinship tie which is legally acknowledged and socially
accepted.

The family and kin group are not necessarily the same. While the family is a household
unit, kin do not always live together or function as a collective body on a daily basis. Kin
groups include aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and so forth. They normally come together
rarely as weddings, funerals. However, kinship ties frequently create obligations and
responsibilities. We may feel compelled to assist our kin and feel free to call upon
relative for many types of aid, including loans and baby-sitting.

How are kinship group identified? The principle of descent assigns people to kinship
groups according to their responsibility to an individual’s mother and father. There are
three principal ways of determining descent.
i) Bilateral descent- which is means that both sides of person’s family are regarded as
equally important.
ii) patrilineal (from the latin word pater, “father”) descent indicates that only the father’s
relatives are important in terms of property, inheritance, and the establishment of
emotional ties. People are considered members of their father’s kin group, not their
mother’s.
iii) Matrilineal (from the Latin word mater, “mother”) descent, only the mother’s
relatives are significant, the relatives of the father are considered unimportant. The
kinship is traced through the female line only.

Authority patterns: who rules?

Societies vary in the way that power within the family is distributed. If a society expects
males to dominate in all family decision making, it is termed as:

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 i) Patriarchy. The eldest male wields the greatest power. Women hold low status in
such societies and rarely are granted full and equal rights within the legal system. Eg it
may be difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce that it is for a man.

ii) Matriarchy, women have greater authority than men. Matriarchies may have emerged
among Native American tribal societies and in nations in which men were absent for long
periods of time for warfare or food gathering.

iii) Egalitarian family- one in which spouses are regarded as equals. This does not mean
that each decision is shared in such families. Mothers may hold authority in some

spheres, fathers in others. In view of many sociologists, the egalitarian family has begun
to replace the patriarchal family as the social norm.

Functions of family.

1. Reproduction- for a society to maintain itself, it must replace dying members.

The family contributes to human survival through its function of reproduction.
2. Protection. Human infants and disabled need constant care and economic
security. Infants and children experience an extremely long period of dependency,
which places special demands on older family members. In all cultures, it is the
family that assumes ultimate responsibility for the protection and upbringing of
children.

3. Socialization. Parents and other kin monitor a child’s behavior and transmit the
norms, values, and language of a culture to the child.

4. Regulation of sexual behavior. Sexual norms are subject to change over time
(for instance, changes in customs for dating). Standards of sexual behavior are
most clearly defined within the family circle. The structure of society influences
these standards so that, characteristically in male –dominated societies, formal
and informal norms permit men to express and enjoy their sexual desires more
freely than women may.
5. Affection and companionship. Ideally, the family provides members with warm
and intimate relationships and helps them feel satisfied and secure. We expect
our relatives to understand us, to care for us, and to be there for us when we need
them.

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6. Providing of social status. Fulfills the need to ‘place’ people in the social order.
We inherit a social position because of the “family background” and reputation of
our parents and siblings. The family unit presents the newborn child with an
ascribed status of race and ethnicity that helps to determine his or her place within
a society’s stratification system. Moreover, family resources affect children’s
ability to pursue certain opportunities such as higher education and specialized
lessons.

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

Marriage may be defined as a socially recognized union between two or more

people that involves sexual and economic rights and duties. In no society are the
choice of marriage partner and the age at first marriage left completely to personal
preferences. The rate of divorce is also affected by social forces.

Some norms require that people marry within their ow

n social group (their own tribe, nationality, religion, race, community, and so
forth). These are called rules of endogamy. Others require that people marry
outside a group to which they belong. These are called rules of exogamy. Rules of
exogamy bar marriage within a small inner circle (such as one’s own close
relatives), while rules of endogamy establish an outer circle that defines how far
afield people can go in search of a mate (not outside one’s own race or social
class, for instance).

Arranged marriages.

In some societies, people believe that this decision is too important to leave to the
young. As a result, adults arrange marriages for their children, often without
consulting the young people. The couple may not even meet until their wedding
day.

Arranged marriages are most often found in societies where elders control land or
other resources on which future generation depend for their livelihood.

Marrying for love.

American society firmly believes romantic love is an important basis for

marriage. Romantic love is a more reliable motivation for their mutual support
than a sense of duty would be. Romantic love also helps weaken the strong
emotional ties that bind young people to their families of orientation, thus making
them more willing to move into their own independent world.

Marriage is a business partnership as much as a romantic fairly; it involves

compromises, specialization and division of labor, financial arrangements, and
communication. By exalting romance, our society may be undermining the very
relationship it tries to promote: stable, enduring, child-producing marriages.

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Deciding when to marry.

Vary- at present, there is the trend of delaying in marriage, why? Perhaps career
development.

Dissolving a marriage.

In America, current trends suggest that close to 2/3 of new marriages will end in
divorce. Nearly 40% of couples who divorce will do so before their 5th
anniversary and about 65% between 10th anniversaries.

Reasons given

-alcohol and drug abuse

-infidelity
-physical and emotional abuse
-disagreement about gender roles
-financial problems
-sexual incompatibility.
-divorce process made easier.
-women becoming independent
-change in basic cultural values eg, a shift in values from a philosophy of self
sacrifice for the good of the family to an emphasis on self fulfillment, autonomy,
personal happiness. The principal reason for getting married today is to satisfy
one’s personal and psychological needs through love. Thus, marriage has become
more couple oriented, and less child-oriented. When the partners’ needs are not
met, there is less social and cultural pressure to stay together “for the children’s
sake”.

Who get divorced?

Sociological research suggests that some marriages ar more prone to divorce than
others (booth and white 1980, Huber and spitze,1980, Leek and pearson, 1991:
White, 1990, Yoder and Nichols,1980). The likelihood of divorce is highest
when:

-the husband and wife live in an urban area

-they both work, but their incomes are not high
-they married early
-they have not been married long
-the wife has egalitarian attitudes about division of labor in the home and the
husband does not.
-neither husband nor wife has strong religious convictions
-both husband and wife are liberal in their attitudes

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-both husband and wife are rather negative about life
-One or both have parents who are divorced.

Long term effects of divorce

-Social structure- women suffer more due to inequalities in the position. Women
tend to earn less than men and usually retain the custody of children. The child
support from men is usually not enough.
-culture also plays an important part in the outcome of divorce. Because it is
younger partners, divorced men have a larger pool of potential new partners than
women do. Women are likely not to marry again, hence the economic situation
women face after divorce is less likely to improve.
The way the culture define gender roles, women who must seek employment after
staying for long without employment face several difficulties.
Some may take low paying jobs foe which they are overqualified. They are
supervised by younger supervisors and this may create further tensions. Finally
they must learn to jungle the responsibilities of home and work.

-children are the biggest losers in divorce because for them the family is the basic
mode of functional integration into society. The family is their source of
emotional support and nurturance. When parents are going through a divorce,
they have less time and energy for their children. They may feel they have no one
to rely one. The roles may be reversed, you may see children helping to care for a
parent who is undergoing severe stress and younger siblings who need care.

The experience of their parents divorce also shapes children’s lifelong orientation
to social action. They may pull back from emotional commitments, come overly
jealous when they enter into relationships, or treat relationships as disposable.

Teenage and unwanted pregnancy

Some teenagers are at higher risk for unplanned parenthood than others.
Sociologist Karen Pittman (1993) identifies some factors:

-becoming sexually active early

-being African –American or Hispanic
-living in a poor neighborhood with secreted schools
-having low school achievement and aspirations.etc

IS ABORTION AN OPTION? Eg rape, medical issues,

CONTRACEPTIVES?

Reducing teenage pregnancy

-Sex education – early before they become active

Child abuse

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Is a socially defined construct. What is considered to be abusive in a particular
society alters over time. What is viewed as abusive in one society today is not
necessary seen a such in another, (kolbin 1991) cites examples of culturally
approved or practice in societies in the southern hemisphere that we would almost
certainly define as abusive.

Categories of child abuse

1. Physical abuse-
Hitting, burning – causing physical harm to the child, physical neglect –
without supervision, ill and lacking essential medical care, overworked.
2. Sexual abuse
Forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual
activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.
Any child below the age of consent may be deemed to have been sexually
abused.
3. Emotional abuse
Persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe and
persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. Where is
the line between acceptance and unacceptable psychological parenting to
be drawn?

Examples
Confining a child in a small place
Severe public humiliation
Severe verbal abuse
Threatening a child
Not allowing social and emotional growth
Not providing a loving, nurturing atmosphere

The children act in Kenya define child abuse as anything that causes
physical, sexual, psychological and mental injury to a child. (check the
new constitution)

Physical signs
Whip or cane scars
Burns
Pinch marks
Bite marks
Physical injuries
Bleeding and bruises

Behavioral signs

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 Absence from school
Over compliant behavior or over submissiveness
Frequently running away from home
General fear of adults
Fear of returning home
Poor school work
Violent behavior
Bedwetting (if the child had stopped)

Describe the trends in divorce and the reasons for them.

Is divorce a serious problem?

Wife abuse

Wife battering
Why do many women remain in abused marriages?

How do we reduce wife abuse?

-combine criminal sanctions for abusers with counseling and shelter for victims
but the challenge is resources.

Elder abuse
The abuse of elderly people by members of their families is on the rise in our
society.
Elder abuse may take the form of physical assaults, (including sexual abuse),
neglect (withholding food medical treatment, or personal care necessary for well
being), financial abuse(theft or misuse of the older person’s assets), or
psychological abuse (including threats to abandon the elderly person in a nursing
home).
Review questions.
Think critically the future of the Kenyan families.
How do the young people feel about marriage?
You as a person, do you have a family that is your role model?
Compare the modern family with the traditional family

What are some sociological reasons for the current high divorce rate?

SOCIALIZATION
Socialization is the process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions
appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. Socialization occurs
through human interactions. Socialization is a process not only of learning but also of
developing an identity. Socialization processes help maintain a society’s functional
integration by ensuring that individual members have the necessary skills, education and
motivation to participate effectively in the society’s economy and other institutions.

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The social structure influences socialization both by determining what kinds of skills or
motivation are needed by the society (whether it be a large and complex industrial society
or

a small farming community) and determining who gets access to what sorts of
socialization. Ie why in a society we have differences, the rich and the poor, or women
and men.

We learn a lot from those people most important in our lives-immediate family
members, best friends, and teachers. We also learn from people we see on the street, tv,
and in films and magazines. From microsociological perspective, socialization helps us to
discover how to behave properly and what to expect from others if we follow (challenge)
society’s norms, and values. From microsocialogical perspective, socialization provides
for the passing on of the culture and thereby for the long-term continuance of a society.

Socialization affects the overall cultural practices of a society, and it also shapes our self-
images.

Environment: the impact of isolation.

There are adverse effects of extreme deprivation. Researchers are emphasizing the
importance of early socialization experiences for humans who grow up in more normal
environments. It is now recognized that it is not enough to care for an infant’s physical
needs, parents must also concern themselves with children’s social development. if
children are discouraged from having friends, they will be deprived of social interactions
with peers that are critical in their emotional growth.
Researchers have found that the ill effects of being raised in isolation were often
irreversible.

Influence of heredity.
Sociobiology- is the systematic study of the biological bases of social behavior.
Sociobiologists basically apply naturalist Charles Darwin’s principles of natural selection
to the study of social behavior. They assume that particular forms of behavior become
genetically linked to a species if they contribute to its fitness to survive (Van den Berghe,
1978:20). In its extreme form, sociobiology resembles biological determinism by
suggesting that all behavior is totally the result of genetic or biological factors and that
social interactions play no role in shaping people’s conduct.

Sociobiologists have stressed the basic genetic heritage that is shared by all humans and
have shown little interest in speculating about alleged differences between racial groups
or nationalities.

Sociological Approaches to self

Cooley: looking-Glass self

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We learn who we are by interacting with others. Our view of ourselves then comes not
only from direct contemplation of our personal qualities, but also from our impressions of
how others perceive us. Cooley used the phrase looking-glass self to emphasize that the
self is the product of our social interactions with other people.

Three phases for developing self-identity

i) We imagine how we present ourselves to others- to relatives, friends, even strangers
on the street. What we think others see in us.
ii) Then we imagine how others evaluate us (attractive, intelligent, shy, or strange). How
we imagine they judge what they see.
iii) We develop some sort of feeling about ourselves, such as respect or shame, as a result
of these impressions (Cooley, 1902:152; M Howard, 1989:249). How we feel about
those judgments.
NB the looking –glass self is not a direct reflection of what other people sees in us. It is a
mixture of social actions-observation, imagination and subjective interpretation. it is also
a social construction, having the values we have learned from the culture.

Cooley distinguished primary relationships (family and close friends) and secondary
relationships (casual acquaintances). He also emphasized that we are concerned about
how we appear to others all the time. This is because we are interested in how we appear
to ourselves and we see ourselves by imagining what others-family, friends, and total
strangers –think of us.

Mead: role –taking

He argued that almost from the beginning, children realize that they are dependent on
others to satisfy their needs, and that their own actions influence how others behave
toward them.
During the preparatory stage as described by George Herbert Mead, children imitate the
people around them, especially family members with whom they continually interact.

Out of early social interaction a sense of self emerges, which is composed of two parts,
according to Mead. He called these parts the “I” and the “me”. The “I” is the self as
subject, or initiator of thoughts and actions. The “me” is the self as object, the part that
the I and others observe, respond to, and assess. When people say hello to you, they are
talking to your “me”, but your “I” is the one that evaluates the tone of the “me’s” reply.
Social interaction depends on this kind of self-monitoring.

Children have developed the concept of “me” when they are able to understand
themselves as the object of others’ attention (mommy and daddy are smiling at me”). But
at this early stage they are not yet able to take the role of another person and look at
*themselves. That is they do not have a sense of “I”. The okay of early childhood helps to
sharpen the “I/me” distinction. Young children spend much of their time role playing.
They make –believe that they are doctors, police officers, etc. often they take the roles of
people important in their lives, what sociologists call significant others (H.S. Sullivan,
1953). In doing so, their sense of “I” matures.

15
From taking the role of specific others, children eventually advance to taking what Mead
called the role of the generalized other. Now they begin to think about what people in
general will think about a certain action. They learn, eg to cover their mouths when
coughing because people in general think it is a good idea. Soon they are able to reflect
on themselves in light of cultural norms and values and to monitor their behavior in
accordance with general social expectations. This is the ultimate goal of childhood
socialization.

Stages in socialization
-the socialization process continues throughout all stages of the human life cycle. Many
societies have definite rites of passage that dramatize and validate changes in a person’s
status.
-midlife crisis, in which people realize that they have not achieved basic goals and
ambitions and have little time left to do so.
-some of the most difficult socialization challenges are encountered in the later yrs of life.
Assessing one’s accomplishment, coping with declining physical abilities, experiencing
retirement and facing the inevitability of death may lead to painful adjustments. Old age
is further complicated by the negative way in which the elderly are viewed and treated in
many societies. However, many older people continue to lead active, productive, fulfilled
lives- whether within the paid labor force or as part of retirement.

Anticipatory socialization refers to the processes of socialization in which a person’s

“rehearses” for future positions, occupations and social relationships. A culture can
function more efficiently and smoothly if members become acquainted with the norms,
values, and behavior associated with a social position before actually assuming that
status.

Occasionally, as we assume new social and occupational positions, we find it necessary

to unlearn our previous orientation. Resocialization refers to the process of discarding
former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one’s life. The
process of resocialization typically involves considerable stress for the individual.

Resocialization is particularly effective when it occurs within total institutions – such as

prison’s, the military, mental hospital, and convents, which regulate all aspects of a
person’s life under a single authority. the total institution is generally cut off from the rest
of society and therefore provides for all the needs of its members.

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
1. Family
-the family is the institution most closely associated with the process of socialization. We
experience socialization first as babies and infants living in families, it is here that we
develop an initial sense of self. Parents seek to help their children become competent
adolescents and self-sufficient adults, which mean socializing them into norms and values

16
of both the family and the larger society. In this process, adults themselves experience
socialization as they adjust to becoming spouses, parents, and in-laws ( Gecas, 1981).

2. School.
-schools have a clear mandate to socialize people and especially children into norms and
values of our cultures. Gender roles- girls are expected not to perform well as boys.

3. Peer group
-as a child grows older, the family becomes somewhat less important in his or her social
development. Peer groups increasingly assume the role of significant others. They enjoy
the similar social status and same age. The peer groups help the young people to become
independent from parents and other authority figures.
Peer groups serve a valuable function by assisting the transition to adult responsibilities.
At home, parents tend to dominate, at school, the teenager must contend with teachers
and administrators. But within the peer group, each member can assert himself or herself
in a way that may not be possible elsewhere.

4. Mass media
-radios, tv, internet, recorded music, have become important agents of socialization. Tv
and our children- cartoons, NB the hrs kids watch tv
How do they represent gender roles? What have the tv and other media influenced us?

5. Workplace
-a fundamental aspect of human socialization involves learning to behave appropriately
within an occupation.

6. The state
-Social scientists have increasingly recognized the importance of the state – or
government at all levels as an agent of socialization because of its growing impact on the
life cycle. Policies and strategies formulated by the governments, public hospitals,
schools, judiciary, free primary education, cash for the elderly, care givers, etc

SOCIAL INTERACTION

Social interaction refers to the ways in which people respond to one another, we engage
in countless behaviors during our daily lives. Other people sometimes see our behaviors
and alter their own accordingly. in response to our cough, they turn away to avoid
catching our cold, in response to our laugh, etc . aware of the responses we have triggered
in others, in turn, may adjust our behavior. Eg we cover our mouth when we cough

17
-social interaction is this process of people orienting themselves to others and acting in
response to what others say and do.

-The word social implies that more than one person is involved while interaction means
that all parties are mutually influencing one another. People interact when they
communicate via letter, phone, fax, not necessary one on one. Moreover, just being near
others does not always mean social interaction will take place. Eg going thro a crowd in
town……. And never make eye contact with a single person.

Social interaction is purposive- people act and react to each other in their pursuit of goals.

Social interaction is always ordered by patterns of social structure and culture.

Defining the situation

-one approach to studying social interaction is to look at how people define the situation

Symbolic interaction
-according to Mead, the first is that people act toward the things they encounter on the
basis of what those things mean to them – people, activities, and situations.
-2nd, we learn what things mean by observing how people respond to them. Ie through
social interaction, the sounds or words, gestures, facial expressions, and body postures we
use in our dealings with others acquire symbolic meanings that are shared by people who
belong to the same culture.

Acquiring our many shared symbolic meanings is not easy, because the same symbol can
have different meanings depending on the context.

Functionalist view
Five major tasks that a society must accomplish if it is to survive
1. Replacing personnel- any society or group must replace personnel when they die,
leave or become incapacitated. This is accomplished through immigration,
acquiring slaves, or normal sexual reproduction,

2. Teaching new recruits

The group must encourage recruits to learn and accept its values and customs.

3. Producing and distributing goods and services

Each society establishes a set of rules for the allocation of financial and other
resources. The society must satisfy the needs of the members or risk the
possibility of discontent and ultimately disorder.

4. Preserving order
-preserving order and protecting itself form attack.

5. Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose

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 -people must feel motivated to continue as members of a society in order to fulfill
the previous requirements.

Conflict view
Conflict theorists concede the presence of a negotiated order, but they add that
many segments of our society – among them the homeless, the disabled, and
people with AIDS – are not in a position to negotiate effectively, because they
lack sufficient power and resources. This view – why should we preserve the
existing social structure if it is unfair and discriminatory?

Interactionist view
-interactionist theorists emphasize that our social behavior is conditioned by the rules and
statuses which we accept, the groups to which we belong, and the institutions within
which we function.

Durkheim’s organic solidarity

-involves a collective consciousness resting on the need a society’s members have for one
another. Once society becomes more complex and there is greater division of labor, no
individual can do it alone. Dependence on others becomes essential for group survival.
Durkheim chose the term organic solidarity, since in his view, individuals become
interdependent in much the same way as organs of the human body.

This is because the societies have become more advanced in technology, greater division
of labor takes place. With increasing specialization, many difficult tasks must be
performed by different individuals. In general social interactions become less personal
that in societies that are mechanical. We begin relating to others on the basis of their
social positions rather that their distinctive human qualities.
-

POLITICS, THE STATE AND WAR

The contest of power.

Politics is the process by which people gain, use and lose power. Accordingly, there is an
element of politics in almost all social relationships. Parents seek to maintain power over
their children, husbands and wives exercise power over each other, teachers wield power
over their students and business executives over their employees.

19
-when we speak of politics as the pursuit of power, we are usually referring to power in
the sense to exert control over other people’s behavior or experiences, even when they
resist ( Weber, 1922/1978)

Legitimacy and authority

-legitimacy refers to the extent to which power is recognized as valid and justified.
-sociologists often refer to legitimate power as authority. Authority is a matter of right,
and should not be backed up by coercive power, or force. Power is illegitimate when it is
solely a matter of coercion.
-power based exclusively on coercion tends to be unstable both because it is inefficient
and because people submit to it out of fear rather than allegiance. This could result to
rebellion and be overthrown.
-sociologists say that a political system is legitimate only if the people in it have the
power to make changes they desire.
-others argue that legitimacy requires power to be exercised in the people’s best interest.
When it is not, the system is illegitimate.
-Americans assume that democracy is the only kind of political system that people
willingly consider legitimate and voluntarily power.

1. Traditional authority.
Most common form of authority. it stems from beliefs and practices passed down from
one generation to generation and usually consists of inherited positions based on kinship
and descent, like those of king, chief, and even father.
-people accept traditional authority because they have always done so.
-in some societies, traditional authority is considered sacred, and political leaders are part
of sacred order.

2.charismatic authority
-derives from the belief that leaders have exceptional personal qualities that deserve
respect and devotion.
-not stable because it is closely tied to the individual personality of the leader, so
successors are not easily found. Eg Mahatma Gadhi

3.legal/rational authority
-derives from a system of explicit laws that define legitimate uses of power.
-power is vested in offices or positions, not in their temporary occupants.
-it is also limited to ‘official business”. It cannot be extended beyond the law without
people’s express consent, eg a president cannot limit couples to a no of children.

The Social structure of power

Power is not distributed equally or randomly among people; it has a hierarchical social
structure. By the very nature of power, some people have more than others, although
some systems distribute power more equitably than others do.

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Marxists argue that the most important forms of power are controlled by the capitalist
class.

The Marxist view

- Karl Marx argued that those who own the means of production tend to control the
rest of society thorough their domination of the economy.
-in an agricultural society, land is the most important means of production, so those who
control land have the most power.
-the government tends to serve the interest of the dominant class.
- since power comes control over the means of production, the Marxist view implies that
nationality these means of production would greatly reduce the inequality of political
power. If the government were to take over industry and run it in the interest of all
worker, class power would be eliminated.

The power –elite view

-Marx’s overwhelming focus on economic as the source of power and his prediction
about the coming of a classless society have been challenged by a number of sociologists.
-they argues that inequalities of power are essential in any social order. they considered a
classless society to an impossibility.
-some argues that the main reason for inequality of power is that talent is unequally
distributed.
-German sociologist and economist Robert Michels claimed that in all organizations
power tends to end up in the hands of a small group of leaders.
- As organizations grow larger and more complex, this tendency toward oligarchy (rule
by a few) becomes stronger.
-leaders chosen for their special talents in administration and public relations gradually
take command. They tend to develop a vested interest in maintaining their politics.
-the power elite (a small group) makes most major policy decisions, especially those
related to war and peace.
-it supports capitalists, to retain power
-eg 1% of US population controls up to 25% of the country’s wealth and holds a
disproportional number of high-level positions in government and business.

The pluralist view

-they argue that social power is dispersed among a variety of competing interest groups.
They control resources and influence policy decisions with varying degrees of success,
but no one group is in command.
-they tend to constantly erect barriers to programs they do no like, major social and
economic problems become impossible to solve (Thurow, 1985).

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The state.
A distinctive feature of modern societies is the existence of complex institutions and
organizations that are specialized for exercising authority, eg courts, police departments,
legislatures, regulatory agencies, executive offices and the military.
- These specialized institutions and organizations form the state.
-the state has the monopoly over the legitimate use of force within a given territory.
-people who try to use force outside the authority of the state are considered criminals,
terrorists or revolutionaries.
-while the state is all the specialized organizations and institutions in which power over a
given geographic region is concentrated, a government is a body lf elected and
nonelected officials who direct the state at any given time. Thus people can be loyal to
their state even while detesting a particular government.

Democracy
- the government by the people. The word itself comes from the Greek word:
demos, meaning “the people”, and kratos, meaning “authority”.
- in a democratic state, authority is rooted in the consent of the people.
- Most democratic countries are representative democracies, in which the people
elect public officials to represent their wishes and interests.
- representative impose clear, legally established limits to what elected officials can
do.
- All participants in the system must obey the rules regarding such principles as
open elections, one person/one vote, and acceptance of majority decisions while
respecting a minority’s right to dissent.
- A democracy does not claim exclusive, unquestioning loyalty from its people.
- If those in power overstep their authority, the people have a right even a duty to
vote them out of office.
- The opposite of democracy is totalitarianism, in which the government attempts to
control every aspect of the lives and even the thoughts of its citizens. No
opposing view is tolerated in a totalitarian system. Power is concentrated in the
hands of one ruling party that is permanently identified with the state. The power
of political leaders is so great that it may be exercised in capricious and arbitrary
ways, creating insecurity, even fear, among the people.
- It is important to note that there are no perfect democracies and no successful
complete totalitarianisms. Most totalitarian rulers realize that “there are certain
bounds to power beyond which they cannot expect compliance” (Moore, 1978, p.
18).
- Leaders who consistently overstep those bounds - who seek to increase their
personal wealth and power at the expense of society – are usually challenged and
eventually overthrown.

The foundations of democracy.

-through history, elites considered mass democracy to be little more than “mob rule” –
and for good reason.
-Universal education-literacy is needed to help people become informed about public
issues which may involve technology, economics, health care and other specialized fields

22
of knowledge. If they are not to be ruled by self-proclaimed experts, they need education
to understand those social issues.
-democracy also requires that citizens be able to exchange ideas with one other, not just
one-to one but in a public discourse ( Herberns, 1989); so they must have freedom from
censorship (restrictions) and from reprisals (punishment) for expressing unpopular
views.
-people also need places for open discussions.
-the free exchange of ideas requires a communication system through which people
through out a country can both learn about current issues and make their own opinions
and experiences known.
-a society that treats most, if not all, citizens as approximately equal. If the gap between
the wealthy elite and mass of poor people is too wide, they may have too few interests in
common for democracy to succeed.
-middle class people are more likely to have vested interest in their political system. They
are also likely to feel free to express their views, even when they oppose elites.
-cultural factors can also promote democracy.
-democracy depends on the people’s willingness to get involved in their political system-
to inform themselves about political issues, to work for candidates of their choice, to
volunteer their help in solving social problems and to cast their votes in elections.

WAR: POLITICS BY ANOTHER NAME

Politics is not always pursued by peaceful means, because it involves the struggle over
power, politics always holds the potential for violence.
-a much larger pattern of political violence is war, the use of military means-such as
organized armies and weapons- to resolve a dispute between societies or between factions
within a society.
-war usually arises only when more peaceful means of engaging in political conflict and
power struggles have broken down. Citizens are unlikely to undertake violent mass
conflict if they believe that other means of achieving their goals are available.
-as a way for societies to resolve conflicts and assert rights, war is an ancient invention.

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Authority, Power, Responsibility and Delegation
Authority – This is the right to give instructions and expect compliance.
Normally derived from position or rank in the organizational hierarchy.
Power – This is the ability to exert influence of a person, object or situation
Responsibility – This is the obligation to perform allocated tasks placed on a
person who occupies a certain position
Accountability – This is the requirement for an individual/group to explain and justify
the extent to which they have achieved performance levels using
resources allocated to them. Accountability is made to higher
levels in the hierarchy.
Delegation – This is the act by which a person or a group of persons possessing
authority part of the same to their subordinate. Once a responsibility has
been delegated, commensurate authority should be granted.

Power
Power is the ability to exert influence or ability to change the attitude or behaviours of
individuals or groups. It’s the ability to influence believes action or behaviours.

Features of Powers
1. Its personal
2. Its both formal and informal
3. Power have several sources
4. Its non mandatory except for formal authority
5. Some power can not be delegated
6. Power is subjective i.e. the possessor uses it as he deems fit.
7. Power can never be balanced

Types of Power
1. Legitimate Power – The influence acknowledges that the influencer has a right
2. Reward Power – The possessor of this power has the ability to reward the influence
if he carries out the orders
3. Referent /Reverend Power – This is based in the desire of the influence to be like or
to be identified with the influencer
4. Coercive Power – This is power is based on the influencer ability to punish or pre-
remand the influence for not obeying order
5. charismatic power- power derived from ones special qualities such as speaking
ability, interpersonal style or high moral standards. This attracts other people who
will want to be identified with the later.
6. association power-derived from associating with someone who has power
7. Expert power – This power is based on the believe that the influencer has specific
knowledge or relevant expertise or skills that the influence doesn’t have.

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SOCIETY AND EDUCATION

Education is closely tied to the key concept of culture. Education is shaped by power
relations, eg power of school administration to determine a curriculum, or the power of
teachers to decide which students pass and which ones fail. Society’s functional
integration affects education too. Eg when a country’s economic system is changing.

THE SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF SCHOOLS.

In preindustrial societies, children are educated by their elders and peers in the course of
daily activities. They observe the elders and learn skills they need whey they grow up.
They also acquire the beliefs and values of their culture informally, often by listening to
the stories and myths that the elders tell.
-in modern societies, by contrast, there is too much to learn for all to education..
-most of education is carried our in formal, specialized institutions, namely schools.
1. To instill self-discipline.
- The hidden curriculum is the set of unwritten rules of behavior are taught in
school to prepare children for life.
-To succeed academically as well as socially, children must learn to be quiet, to
line up, to wait, to act interested even when they are not, and to please their
teachers without alienating their peers.

2. To transmit and reproduce culture

-schools also help to keep alive many ideas and values of the culture by
transmitting them to each new generation of children. This training involves the whole
range of elements of culture including values, beliefs, and language as well as
knowledge.

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3. To perpetuate the socioeconomic power structure
Some sociologists have argued that schools are agencies by which those who hold power
in capitalist societies perpetuate existing social structure and social class power relations.
They do partly by saturating students with the language, symbols, values, and concepts of
capitalism and by excluding those of any other ideology.
-schools don’t socialize everyone for the same social roles. Schools socialize students
from different backgrounds differently, in ways that are consistent with their future
places in society.
4. To select talents- teachers have great influence in this area.
5. To teach skills- to fit in the modern society…

WHO GETS WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION?

Going to college depends in part on students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. Young adults

from low-income families are far less likely to complete four yrs of university than their
peers from rich homes. In America affluent whites tend to rise to the top in the
educational system, while the poor, minority students tend to sink to the bottom.

Parents involvement is schools is another determinant of educational achievement, one

that is also unequally distributed. Upper –middle class parents tend to be much more
closely involved in their children’s education, helping ensure their academic success,
than are working –class parents. Research informs us that middle class parents read to
their children on a regular basis, buy them educational toys, volunteer to help in their
classrooms, supervise their homework, and closely monitor their progress. When
problems arise, these parents intervene forcefully. Other parents don’t do any of these
things, they assume that the teachers “know what they are doing” and simply hope for the
best. NB DEBATABLE.
Why the difference?
-social forces, a feeling of academic incompetence. Most of them have only high school
education, and many are high school dropouts.
-they see themselves as unqualified to get involved in their children’s education.
-some even fear that efforts to do so may cause more harm than good.
-passivity caused by their lower social status compared with that of teachers and other
school professionals.
-they look up to teachers, they feel they owe them respect. This makes them feel insecure
and intimidated.
-the upper middle class parents also have many social connections that keep informed
about educational matters. Most have a teacher as a family member.
-They also tend to share with other parents about issues affecting their children who are
classmates.
-research shows that parental involvement in education can help a child succeed in
school.

26
-if educators want to raise the level of parents’ involvement in working –class schools,
they must take these social forces into account when designing programs to recruit
parents’ help.

(in Kenya, the schools have started open days for parents, they call the academic clinics)

School dropouts

Reasons for quitting school

-lack of identification with counselors and teachers
-teachers who are inexperienced. Uninterested, or incompetent and therefore turns student
off,
-lack of clearly defined goals and values tat encourage students to stay in schools.
-uninvolved parents
-rigid school bureaucracy that seems to have senseless rules.
Low economic power- they are likely not to have books or study aids at home or foster
learning. It is socially, academically, and economically disadvantaged students who tend
to drop out of school.
-miss school, get suspended.
-teenage pregnancy and delinquent behavior
-they students from low income generally feel alienated from school and have low self
esteem.

Reaction of sociologists
-they suggest that parents can be taught to take more interest in their childrens’
education and to monitor their dropouts at the first sign of discipline problems, poor
grades, and poor attendance have often been proposed. So have programs that keep
dissatisfied, restless, low achieving teenagers in school, even with money incentives if
need be ( Ekstrom et al., 1986)

Why educate our children?

-we prepare them adequately for citizenship
-employment
-and parenthood

How are our schools? Public vs private. Do we foster equal opportunity?

Can schools help children for disadvantaged backgrounds make the most of their talents
and rise up the social hierarchy? If so what kind of schools are best able to do so?

Religion and education?

-do we have proper schools based on religion.
-some people go far and pass schools nearby coz they must go their church school.
-
Private versus public schools.
Private schools provide a better education than public high schools. Discuss.

27
Proposals for reforming the educational system.

-providing better training for teachers

-establishing alternative routes to teacher certification
-giving local schools the power to make important educational decisions
-giving parents more choice about which schools their children attend
-creating new schools that are organized around more innovative ways of teaching

Today’s college students.

Age? some go immediately after high school; others join after some time after school.
Others are adult students, after one can pay fees or due to career demands.

How do they spend time?

Courses taken? Which are more popular? Why?

ECONOMICS AND WORK.

Capitalist economies
They are different ways of structuring an economic system, different ways of patterning
social relationships and positions to produce and distribute goods and services.

The nature of capitalist.

Capitalism is a way of organizing economic activity that has four essential
characteristics.
1) private ownership of the means of production
2) self-interest and the profit motive as the major economic incentives
3) free competition in the markets for labor, raw materials and products
4) repeated investment for capital accumulation. These four attributes constitute a
pure model or ideal type of capitalism.

Private ownership of the means of production means that all the material means of
production are owned by private individuals or corporations rather than by the state.
These means of production are forms of capital, or wealth that is invested in generating
more wealth by producing goods are services. Capitalism gives power mainly to owners
of capital-capitalists- and not the workers who contribute labor rather than capital to the
production process.

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In capitalist system, people base their economic decisions on self-interest. Consumers
buy the goods and services they want (limited only by the purchasing power). Workers
choose the jobs they wish to hold (constrained only by their individual backgrounds,
training, and experience). Producers select the goods and services they wish to sell
(restricted only by the availability of investment dollars, the interest of consumers, and
the ability to earn a profit). Although these may seem self-centered ways of making
economic choices, their cumulative results can be quite beneficial for society as a whole.
Economic choices motivated purely by self-interest ultimately lead to the production of
the goods consumers want and corresponding rise in society’s wealth.

Competition prevent an enterprise capitalist from charging exorbitant prices to maximize

profits. If one’s firm products are overpriced, consumers will simply reject them in favor
of similar products produced by other firms. The same competitive forces operate in the
market for labor and other resources. If one firm tries to boost its profits by paying
workers less than the going wage, its best employees will find work elsewhere, resulting
in poorer quality products and loss of sales.
Benefits of competition
-products are priced fairly
-workers are paid fairly
-resources are used efficiently
-and capitalist earn a “normal” profit

Meaning of work
What do you do?
What is your occupation? What work do you do?
Work is one way of defining other people and ourselves. Work is rewarded not only by
pay but by the sense of identity it gives people.
For different jobs, we have certain expectations about the kind of people who fill them.
At the same time, when ourselves enter an occupation, we tend to mold our behavior to
conform to what we think is appropriate for that particular social role.

Most people have favorable opinions about their work, particularly those in white-collar
jobs, professionals and technical occupations for which substantial training is required.
There are people who enjoy their jobs such that they would choose the same kind of work
again.

You might assume that job satisfaction is higher among professionals because their jobs
bring relatively high pay and prestige. These rewards are important aspects of job
satisfaction, but they are not the only reasons people express pleasure with their work.
-others include the inherent interest of the work itself, the sense that one is doing
something worthwhile and contributing to society,

29
-the sense that one is supporting oneself and one’s family and doing what is expected of
an adult,

the pleasure of developing competence at something and exercising a skill

-the enjoyment of being with co-workers.
NB unfortunately, not all jobs offer these satisfactions. Many blue collar factory jobs, are
inherently boring, unchallenging, and socially isolating, as well as poorly paid and
without prestige.
-workers who do the same manual tasks all day, who are pressed to do these tasks as
quickly as possible, and who never have the sense of seeing a process form beginning to
end are especially likely to find their jobs dissatisfying. They are likely to feel alienated
from their work environment, even from society as a whole. To them a job is just a means
of earning a paycheck. This view of work is one reason that trade unions have focused so
intently on increasing wages for blue collar workers. When people are convinced that
life’s pleasures are all outside the workplace, having enough money to pursue outside
interests becomes of paramount importance (Calhoun, 1981).

-Karl Marx believed that worker dissatisfaction was inherent (natural) in a capitalist
system, where the organization and management of production are separate from the
manual labor involved. Blue collar workers have no control over the production process.
to Marx, it was inevitable that workers under capitalism would feel alienated,
dehumanized, and unfulfilled. They are treated merely like cogs in the overall production
process, not like skilled employees who are performing a meaningful and valued role.

Labor markets

Primary labor market- is that in which workers are employed by stable, successful,
usually relatively large firms. These workers have job security, health care and retirement
benefits, and relatively good incomes. Most workers who are advantaged in terms of
education, experience, and socioeconomic background find employment in the primary
labor market.

The secondary labor market- is smaller and much less stable that the primary labor
market. Workers in the secondary are employed in domestic service, in fast food
restaurant, and in small business like florists, caterers, and liquor stores, many of which
don’t survive very long. Jobs in the secondary labor market are often part-time or
seasonal. Wages are low and layoffs are frequent, especially during recessions.
-health insurance and other benefits are rarely provided.
-most jobs in the secondary labor market offer no chance for career advancement and
seldom teach skills that could lead to better positions.
-many workers in this market struggle to make ends meet even when they are employed
full-time.

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-Changes in technology and in the organization of production affect demand in labor
markets. If people whose skills are devalued in the primary labor market fail to develop
new, more marketable skills, they may find that they have to accept jobs in the secondary
labor market.
All people employed by someone else are subject to control, or the coordination of their
work effort.

Problems of unemployment
-unemployment is a “normal” characteristic of capitalist economies. Sociologists are
interested mainly in the unemployment rate (as a percentage of the total number of people
in the labor market), and in the question of which people suffer unemployment.
Unemployment is most common in the secondary labor market.

Structural unemployment- it is tied to the structure of an economic system as it undergoes

market changes. E.g. technological innovations always cause some industries to decline,
as new ones develop and expand.

Cyclical unemployment- caused by the periodic downturns in capitalist economies. When

supply outstrips demand, business cut back on employment and the resulting drop of
income and spending can trigger more job layoffs, until a recession sets in.
-the threat of unemployment from one or more of these causes and the presence of many
people looking for work, serves to keep workers disciplined in a capitalist system and to
discourage them from demanding substantially higher wages.

-
Temporary joblessness is very common is a capitalist economy like America. Many of
these people found new jobs quickly but some suffered long periods of anxiety, economic
deprivation, personal humiliation and a devastated sense of self-worth.

The upper middle class who are unemployed usually have savings to help them through,
they also have a high standard of living to support. This can be a very stressful
experience. The days are filled with uncertainty.

The unemployed executives and professionals also feel a strong sense of social isolation.
The privacy of their large homes cuts them off from neighbors. They can no longer afford
to socialize at their clubs and favorite restaurants. They feel embarrassed about calling
old friends at work because they think those people will be expecting to be asked for a
job.

The problems of unemployed are not just matters of self-image; they include very real
material deprivations. This may result to low self-esteem.

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People with social and institutional support available to them cope well with
unemployment. This includes the support of family and friends, who can help the
unemployed person, maintain a sense of competence and self-worth.

Professionalism
Professionalism has been an important trend in the primary labor market. Professions are
categories of jobs in which entrance is restricted to those who possess specialized
knowledge and skills that they have acquired from a relatively long period of formal
education.
-evaluation of the members of a profession is performed by other members (not by
“outsiders”), and the members are largely self-organized in their work. E.g. law and
medicine are oldest and most respected professions.

Professions often command good incomes. Many are self-employed with their own
offices or partnerships.
-instead of being supervises by a boss, they are governed by professional codes of ethics
and the desire for a good reputation. The majority of professions, however work for large
organizations.
-because professionals typically enjoy high prestige, pay and autonomy, these is an
incentive for occupational groups to try to achieve professional status. This means more
credentials are needed to enter these fields. An oversupply of members, which occurs
when credential requirements are not very stringent, tends to weaken a claim to
professional status (Friedson, 1985).

COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT

Collective Behaviour

Definition: Smelser: Relatively umplanned ( unstructured) behaviour of a group of

people who are reacting to a common influence in an ambiguous/ unclear situation.

Key words from the definition

Unplanned- It is a reaction to a situation.
Unstructured – It is unpredictable. You cannot tell which direction it will take once it
begins.
Reaction to a common influence – Initially people have something they are reaching to.
As it grows however, the original focus is usually lost.
Ambiguous situation – It is not always clear what the issues are. Issues keep changing.
Few or no real facts are on the ground.

Characteristics of Collective Behaviour

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Collective behaviour may vary in origins, time and the general direction that it takes.
However, there are certain general characteristics that describe such behaviours, ranging
from a simple group fight between kids to a large scale action such as the Rwandan
Genocide and the Kenya Post-election violence, to the current scenarios in the Arab
world. These characteristics are:

1. Unusual
Social structures and norms collapse. Peoples roles and behaviour changes e.g.
when there is a riot, people can get into vehicles going in the wrong direction
from their usual direction or get into peoples vehicles without asking.

2. High Level of Emotional Arousal

Emotions include anger, excitement, sympathy, fear, etc. People are usually high
charged emotionally.

3. Urgency
It involves a sense of urgency. People feel that something must be done here and
now. E.g. when a thief is caught, people start attacking them immediately before
they even confirm the details.

4. Fluid and Unpredictable

One cannot tell how the situation will progress. Issues keep changing in the
course of the collective action. In a campus riot for instance, it could start with
the issue of bad food and end as a complaint on high fees. It could start as a
peaceful demonstration and then become violent.

5. Short Lived
Episodes last short period but it can be repeated severally. Even in a massive
event such as the PEV, there are episodes as people take time to rest and re-group.
The state of high emotional arousal will usually exhaust people physically,
mentally, and emotionally thus reducing the amount of time for a single episode.

6. Arises from a specific Social Context

Such context could include economic hardship, social injustices, etc. There are
very many reasons why people behave the way they do as a collectivity. Key
among them is the prevailing social context that creates room for disharmony,
dissatisfaction, anger, fear, worry, etc. These are the factors that make such
reactions possible. In Kenya for instances, communities complained of injustices
in land distribution thus creating room for a common reaction after a precipitating
event – the elections. University students will riot over seemingly insignificant
reasons like electrical blackouts over which the university has mo control. The
real issues may be deeper and the administration does not listen to the students so
it explodes when there is an excuse.

THEORIES OF COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR

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Emergent Norm Theory

Normal life is governed by norms which guide behaviour. This makes life possible even
where there are huge gatherings such as a gospel rally. There are norms that govern such
a meeting such as queuing, using ushers to direct people etc. Physical barriers such as
guardrails or simple ropes are respected.

When these norms fail to operate for any reason, a new set of norms emerge that govern
the behaviour of the crowd. Emergent norm theory emphasizes that although episodes of
collective behaviour may appear chaotic, they tend to follow certain norms.

The norms are spontaneous but may also reflect both the general norms of society and the
prevailing social context, e.g. people may loot from shops but not attack each other.

Emergent Norm Theory states that: A collective definition of appropriate and

inappropriate behaviour emerges during episodes of collective behaviour.

Its key proponents are sociologists Ralph Turner and Lewis Killian.

Contagion Theory

The key proponent was French Thinker named Gustav Le Bon. He proposed the theory
at the turn of the 20th century when Europe was going through changes especially in
labour relations. These changes threatened the upper class to which Le Bon belonged.

The basic proposition of this theory is that people undergo dramatic change when they
become part of a crowd. Rational people become capable of actions they would
otherwise not be capable of in normal situations.
Let Bon believed that people developed a collective mind.

He cited 3 sources of collective behaviour:

1. A sense of anonymity gives one a sense of protection and crowd power. Nobody
knows me, we are doing this as a group.
2. A contagion moves through the crowd like a virus, from one person to the other.
3. People become suggestible, as if hypnotized, accepting and obeying suggestion of
financial leaders. The position of a leader in such a crowd therefore becomes
very important.

Convergence Theory

- According to this theory, crowd situations do not produce unusual behaviours

in people but instead, it attracts certain types of people who are predisposed to
that kind of behaviour.

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- The emphasis is on individual traits of the participants, e.g. when a street kid
is caught stealing, not all people join in the beating. According to this theory,
only those predisposed to that kind of behaviour would join in the ‘mob justice’.
- It is therefore the individuals who decide how to behave based on their
individual traits.

Value Added Approach

The concern of this approach is to explain how social conditions are transformed into
some form of collective behaviour. It is a process of adding value, just like raw materials
progress to become finished products. Its key proponent is Neil Simelser.

It identifies six determinants of collective behaviour:

1. Structured Conduciveness – A society’s structure can facilitate mergence of

different interests e.g. the big gap between the rich and poor in Kenya.
2. Structured Strain – This is the perception that the interests groups are in
conflict. There is therefore tension between those groups e.g. between police and
university students.
3. Existence of a generalized belief – A belief such as ‘all wealthy people are
corrupt or have stolen wealth’
4. Precipitating Factor – This is the event that triggers the collective behaviour e.g.
when police arrest a university student or a political activist.
5. Mobilisation for action – People react to the precipitating factor e.g. when
someone is hit by a car, people quickly gather. There is readiness for action and
people urge each other on to action e.g. stoning the driver or burning the car.
6. Social Control – This refers to the reaction of the formal agents of social control
such as the police or university authorities. This could determine the direction
that the collective will take.

Each step builds on the previous step for progression of collective behaviour.

Types of Collective Behaviour

(a) Crowds
A Crowd is a temporary grouping of people in close proximity. They are
characterized by face-to-face interaction.

1. The assembling process e.g. crusades which people are invited to or just join
in, or when an accident happens and a crowd just forms.
2. Communication – People ask questions like “what is happening here?” There
is continuous communication and rumours play an important part in this
process.
3. Mobilization – This happens through the communication function and through
leaders where they exist.

(b) Mass Behaviour

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 Mass Behaviour is the action of many people who are not in close proximity. The
mass media plays a major role in the communication and information spread. In
mass behaviour, crowds could gather in different places or people could react as
individuals e.g. when a strike is called and people just choose to stay at home.

(c) Disaster Behaviour

Behaviour of people in reaction to a disaster e.g. a fire outbreak or accident.
Usual norms breakdown and saving lives becomes the priority, such that people
could be carried naked without any feeling of inappropriateness.

(d) Fads and Fashion

Fads are temporary patterns of behaviour involving large number of people –
They usually have no precedents and leave no successors. E.g. the break dance
craze that came and went swiftly.

(e) Panics and Crazes

Craze – Lasts for some time. Panics include fearful reactions, mass hysteria, etc.

(f) Political protests and revolutions

(g) Riots, Demonstrations
(h)

Criteria used to distinguish between types of collective behaviour

(a) Degree of spontaneity or planning in their formation – to what extent is the

behaviour premediated?
(b) Internal organization – Is there a leader? Is there any form of order e.g. presence
of ushers etc.
(c) Extent to which interaction among the participants is rational and self conscious
or irrational, emotional and out control.
(d) Their duration – Some will last for a few minutes, others for days
(e) Potential of collective behavior for producing social-cultural change

Social Movements

This refers to organized collective activities to bring about or resist fundamental change
in existing society. Blumer defines it as collective enterprises to establish a new order in
life.

They are a form of collective behavior that is well organized, focused and intended to
bring or resist change in society and they survive over long periods e.g. The civil rights
movement led by Martin Luther, the original FORD in Kenya, Pro-choice/Pro-life
movements, Women liberation movements etc.

Caucuses

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A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement to
nominate candidates, determine policy etc. The term has been popularized through the
American electoral system where states hold caucuses before the national elections.

A caucus may be an informal group within a larger group, intended to serve as a focus for
the interaction of members who share a common interest not covered by the larger group
e.g. a women political caucus can exist within a political party to serve women’s interests
that may not be adequately covered by the party structure.

Interest Groups
This is an organized collection of people who seek to influence political decisions
through such activities as lobbying, advocacy, or other forms of putting pressure. They
may also be referred to as lobby groups, pressure groups, etc. Green belt movement is a
group example of an interest group.

Causes and Conditions of Collective Movements

1.) Relative Deprivation

J. Wilson describes relative deprivation as “the conscious feeling of a negative

discrepancy between legitimate expectations and present actualities”

- It is a matter of perception rather than reality. Some people feel that it is not
practically possible to achieve their legitimate expectations e.g. educating their
children by depending on legal means of earning.

- People may not be necessarily poor or oppressed in the real sense but it is how
they perceive their position relative to the position of other classes in the society.

- Marx and Engels say that even though workers enjoyment increases, their
satisfaction falls in comparison with the increased enjoyment of the capitalists.
E.g. compare a boss who earns 500,000 units and a worker earning 20,000 units.
If they both receive 10% pay increase, the boss receives an increase of 50,000
units while the worker receives an increase of 2,000 units. So although the
workers enjoyment will go up, their satisfaction will decrease because he
compares his increase to that of the boss.

- People felt they deserve better and that their goals cannot be satisfied
legitimately or through conventional means.

Relative Deprivation

It is the perception of an unfair disparity between one’s situation and that of others.

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Relative Deprivation occurs where individuals or groups subjectively perceive
themselves as unfairly disadvantaged over others perceived as having similar attributes
and deserving similar rewards (their reference groups).

J. Wilson describes relative deprivation as “the conscious feeling of a negative

discrepancy between legitimate expectations and present actualities”

- It is a matter of perception rather than reality. Some people feel that it is not
practically possible to achieve their legitimate expectations e.g. educating their
children by depending on legal means of earning.

- People may not be necessarily poor or oppressed in the real sense but it is how
they perceive their position relative to the position of other classes in the society.

- Marx and Engels say that even though workers enjoyment increases, their
satisfaction falls in comparison with the increased enjoyment of the capitalists.
E.g. compare a boss who earns 500,000 units and a worker earning 20,000 units.
If they both receive 10% pay increase, the boss receives an increase of 50,000
units while the worker receives an increase of 2,000 units. So although the
workers enjoyment will go up, their satisfaction will decrease because he
compares his increase to that of the boss.

- People felt they deserve better and that their goals cannot be satisfied
legitimately or through conventional means.

RD theory posits that dissatisfaction with a low standard of living leads people to adopt a
revolutionary ideology.

The discontent arising from relative deprivation can be used to explain radical politics,
messianic religions, the rise of social movements, industrial disputes and the whole
plethora of crime and defiance.

Reference group theorist argues that social comparisons contextualize how people
experience social and economic deprivation and these comparisons tend to produce anger
and normlessness, hence increasing the likelihood of deviant behaviour.

Politicians, activists and others leaders of social movements usually draw attention to
people’s situation and thus heighten awareness of the disparities. This is likely to draw
more support to the movements with the resultant capacity to bring about lasting social
change in the society.
2. Resource Mobilisation.

- The focus here is on the resources that make social movements successful agents
of change. It refers to the ways in which social movements utilize resources
available to them in order to succeed in their goals.

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- The resources include:

o Finances
o Leadership and personnel
o Ideology
o Political influence
o Access to mass media

- Leadership and ideology become critical concerns in social movements.

According to Karl Max, leaders are necessary to sharpen the awareness of the
people. People (proletariat) need to leaders to move them from false
consciousness to a proper understanding of their class in relation to the capitalists.

- Ideology defines the movements and gives in its agendas.

- Ideology also defines the movements friends and enemies and raises the
consciousness of its supporters.

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