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INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
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10-3 Our Changing Immigration Mosaic 185
10-4 Dominant and Minority Groups 187
10-5 Some Sources of Racial-Ethnic Friction 189
10-6 Major U.S. Racial and Ethnic Groups 191
10-7 Sociological Explanations of Racial-Ethnic
Inequality 198
10-8 Interracial and Interethnic Relationships 202
11 The Economy and

Politics 204
11-1 Global Economic Systems 205
11-2 Corporations and the
Economy 207
11-3 Work in U.S. Society Today 208
11-4 Sociological Explanations of Work and the
Economy 214
11-5 Global Political Systems 217
11-6 Politics, Power, and Authority 219
11-7 Politics and Power in U.S. Society 221
11-8 Sociological Perspectives on Politics
and Power 225
Masterfile
12 Families and Aging 230
12-1 What Is a Family? 231
12-2 How U.S. Families Are
Changing 235
12-3 Family Conflict and Violence 242
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis News/Getty Images
12-4 Our Aging Society 245

12-5 Sociological Explanations of Family
and Aging 249
13 Education and Religion 254

13-1 Education and Society 255
13-2 Sociological Perspectives on Education 255
vi CONTENTS
13-3 Some Current Issues in U.S. Education 263
13-4 Religion and Society 268
13-5 Religious Organization and Major World
Religions 269
13-6 Religion in the United States 271
13-7 Sociological Perspectives on
US Army Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

Religion 275
14 Health and Medicine 282

14-1 Global Health and Illness 283
14-2 Health and Illness in the United States 283
14-3 Health Care: United States and Global 291
14-4 Sociological Perspectives on Health and
Medicine 293
15 Population, Urbanization,
and the Environment 302
15-1 Population Changes 303
15-2 Urbanization 310
15-3 The Environment 316
16 Social Change: Collective

Behavior, Social Movements,
and Technology 326
16-1 Collective Behavior 327
16-2 Social Movements 335
16-3 Technology and Social Change 340
Lisa S./Shutterstock.com
References 346
Name Index 387
Subject Index 400
CONTENTS vii
1 Thinking Like a Sociologist
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AGE Fotostock
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© Photo Credit Here

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you will be able to…
1-1 Explain what sociology is and how it differs from other social
sciences and common sense.
1-2 Explain how and why a sociological imagination helps us After finishing
understand society. this chapter go to
1-3 Identify and illustrate why it’s worthwhile to study sociology. PAGE 19 for
1-4 Describe and explain the origins of sociology, why sociology
developed, and its most influential early theorists.
STUDY TOOLS
1-5 Compare, illustrate, and evaluate the four contemporary
sociological perspectives.
2 SOC
Texting and emailing are associated with the highest risk of car crashes, and headset
cell phones aren’t much safer than handheld cell phones. Almost 90 percent of U.S.
drivers say that distracted driving is a serious safety threat. However, 70 percent talk
on a cell phone, text, surf the Internet, and even video chat while driving. In 2014
alone, such distractions contributed to 18 percent of all crashes that resulted in death
or severe injury (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2015; AT&T Newsroom, 2015;
National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2016).
muttered, “Her name is Stupid,” and flung the doll into

W H AT D O YOU T H I N K ?
a corner.
Sociology is basically common sense. Despite some individual differences, identical twins,
you, and I are like other people in many ways. Around
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
strongly agree strongly disagree
True or False?
E V E R Y B O D Y K N O W S T H AT. . .
Why is there such a disconnection between many
Americans’ attitudes and behavior? This chapter exam- 1. The death penalty reduces crime.
ines these and other questions. Let’s begin by consider- 2. Women’s earnings are now similar to men’s,
ing what sociology is (and isn’t) and how a “sociological especially in high-income occupations.
imagination” can give us more control over our lives. 3. People age 65 and older make up the largest
We’ll then look at how sociologists grapple with com- group of those who are poor.
plex theoretical issues in explaining social life. Before 4. There are more married than unmarried U.S.
reading further, take the True or False? adults.
5. Divorce rates are higher today than in the past.
6. Latinos are the fastest-growing racial-ethic
1-1 WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY? group in the United States.
7. The best way to get an accurate measure of pub-
Stated simply, sociology is the scientific study of human lic opinion is to poll as many people as possible.
behavior in society. Sociologists study behavior patterns 8. Illegal drugs are the biggest health hazard.
that occur between individuals, among small groups
The answers are at the end of 1-1.
(e.g., families), large organizations (e.g., Apple), and
entire societies (e.g., the United States). But, you might
protest, “I’m unique.”
the world, we experience grief when a loved one dies,

1-1a Are You Unique? participate in rituals that celebrate marriage or the birth
Yes and no. Each of us is unique in the sense that you of a child, and want to have healthy and happy lives.
and I are like no one else on earth. Even identical twins, Some actions, such as terrorist attacks, are unpredict-
who have the same physical characteristics and genetic able. For the most part, however, people conform to ex-
matter, often differ in personality and interests. One of pected and acceptable behavior. From the time that we
my colleagues likes to tell the story about his 3-year- get up until we go to bed,
old twin girls who received the same doll. One twin we follow a variety of rules
sociology the scientific study of
chattered that the doll’s name was Lori, that she loved and customs about what human behavior in society.
Lori, and would take good care of her. The second twin we eat, how we drive, how
CHAPTER 1: Thinking Like a Sociologist 3
common sense notions about economic
success vary considerably across
Marriage without Love? No Way! countries.
When I ask my students, “Would you marry someone you’re not ▸▸ Much of our common sense is based
in love with?” most laugh, raise an eyebrow, or stare at me in dis- on myths and misconceptions. A
belief. “Of course not!” they exclaim. In fact, the “open” courtship common myth is that living together is
and dating systems common in Western nations, including the a good way to find out whether part-
United States, are foreign to much of the world. In many African, ners will get along after marriage.
Asian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern countries, marriages Generally, however, couples who live
are arranged: They forge bonds between families rather than together before marriage have higher
individuals, and preserve family continuity along religious and divorce rates than those who don’t (see
socioeconomic lines. Love isn’t a prerequisite for marriage in so- Chapter 12).
cieties that value kin groups rather than individual choices (see Sociology, in contrast to conventional
Chapters 9 and 12). wisdom, examines claims and beliefs criti-
cally, considers many points of view, and
enables us to move beyond established ways
of thinking. The sociological perspective
we act in different social situations, and how we dress for analyzes how social context influences people’s lives. The
work, classes, and leisure activities. “sociological imagination” is at the center of the socio-
So what? you might shrug. Isn’t it “obvious” that we logical perspective.
dress differently for classes than for job interviews? Isn’t
all of this just plain old common sense?
1-1b Isn’t Sociology Just Common True or False?

Sense?
E V E R Y B O D Y K N O W S T H AT. . .
No. Sociology goes well beyond conventional wisdom,
what we call common sense, in several ways:
All of the answers are false.
▸▸ Common sense is subjective. If a woman 1. States without the death penalty have had con-
crashes into my car, I might conclude, according to sistently lower homicide rates than those with
conventional wisdom, statements that we’ve heard death penalties (see Chapter 7).
over the years, that “women are terrible drivers.” 2. Regardless of education or occupation, women’s
In fact, most drivers involved in crashes are men— earnings are lower than men’s (see Chapters 9
especially teenagers and those age 70 and older and 11).
(Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2013). Thus, 3. Children ages 5 and under make up the largest
objective data show that, overall, men are worse group of Americans who are poor (see Chapter 8).
drivers than women.
4. The number of unmarried U.S. adults outnum-
▸▸ Common sense ignores facts. Because common bers those who are married (see Chapter 12).
sense is subjective, it ignores facts that challenge 5. Divorce rates are lower today than they were
cherished beliefs. For example, many Americans between 1975 and 1990 (see Chapter 12).
are most concerned about street crimes, such as 6. Latinos are the largest ethnic group in the
robbery or homicide. FBI and sociological data United States, but Asian Americans are the fast-
show, however, that we’re much more likely to be est growing (see Chapter 10).
assaulted or murdered by someone we know or live 7. What matters in polling is not the number of
with (see Chapters 7 and 12). people polled, but their representativeness in
▸▸ Common sense varies across groups and the population studied (see Chapter 2).
cultures. Many Americans believe that working 8. In the United States and worldwide, tobacco use
harder decreases poverty. In contrast, Europeans is the leading cause of preventable death and
tend to think that poverty is due to forces outside disability (see Chapter 14).
people’s control (see Chapters 3 and 8). Thus,
4 SOC
1-2 WHAT IS A SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION?
According to sociologist C. Wright Mills (1916–1962),
social factors such as religion, ethnicity, and politics
Jessica Miglio/Netflix/Everett Collection

affect our behavior. Mills (1959) called this ability to
see the relationship between individual experiences and
larger social influences the sociological imagination.
The sociological imagination emphasizes the connection
between personal troubles (biography) and structural
(public and historical) issues.
Consider unemployment. If only a small group of
people can’t find a job, it’s a personal trouble that may Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black revolves around a
be due, in part, to an individual’s low educational at- white, upper-middle-class woman who’s in prison for
tainment, lack of specific skills that employers want, drug smuggling. For sociologists, the series illustrates
not searching for work, and so on. If unemployment is the connection between micro-level individual behavior
widespread, it’s a public issue because economic prob- (the inmates’ and prison guards’ experiences) and
lems are also the result of structural factors such as mass macro-level factors (social class, family structures, racial
layoffs, sending jobs overseas, technological changes, discrimination, corruption, and prison overcrowding).
and restrictive hiring policies (see Chapter 11). Thus,
people may be unemployed regardless of skills, a college
degree, and job searches. divorce. On a micro level, sociologists study factors like
A sociological imagination helps us understand extramarital affairs, substance abuse, arguments about
how larger social forces impact our everyday lives. It money, and other everyday interactions that fuel mari-
identifies why our personal troubles are often due to tal tension and unhappiness, leading to divorce. On a
larger public issues and policies over which we have lit- macro level, sociologists look at how the economy, laws,
tle, if any, control. A sociological imagination relies on cultural values, and technology affect divorce rates (see
both micro- and macro-level approaches to understand Chapter 12). Examining micro, macro, and micro–macro
our social world. forces is one of the reasons why sociology is a powerful
tool in understanding (and changing) our behavior and
society at large (Ritzer, 1992).
1-2a Microsociology: How People
Affect Our Everyday Lives
Microsociology examines the patterns of individuals’
1-3 WHY STUDY SOCIOLOGY?
social interaction in specific settings. In most of our rela-
tionships, we interact with others on a micro, or “small,” Sociology offers explanations that can greatly improve
level (e.g., members of a work group discussing who will the quality of your everyday life. These explanations can
perform which tasks). These everyday interactions in- influence choices that range from your personal deci-
volve what people think, say, or do on a daily basis. sions to expanding your ca-
reer opportunities.
sociological imagination
1-2b Macrosociology: How Social seeing the relationship between
Structure Affects Our Everyday Lives 1-3a Making individual experiences and larger
social influences.
Informed
Macrosociology focuses on large-scale patterns and microsociology examines
processes that characterize society as a whole. Macro, or
Decisions the patterns of individuals’ social
interaction in specific settings.
“large,” approaches are especially useful in understand- Sociology can help us
ing some of the constraints—such as economic forces make more informed de- macrosociology examines the
and public policies. cisions. We often hear large-scale patterns and processes
that characterize society as a
Microsociology and macrosociology differ concep- that grief counseling is
whole.
tually, but are interrelated. Consider the reasons for essential after the death
of a loved one. In fact, 4 in 10 Americans are better
off without it. Grief is normal, and most people work
through their losses on their own, whereas counseling
sometimes prolongs depression and anxiety (Stroebe
et al., 2000).
1-3b Understanding Diversity

The racial and ethnic composition of the United States is
changing. By 2025, only 58 percent of the U.S. popula-
tion is projected to be white, down from 76 percent in
1990 and 86 percent in 1950 (Passel et al., 2011; U.S.
Census Bureau, 2012). As you’ll see in later chapters,
this racial/ethnic shift has already affected interpersonal
relationships as well as education, politics, religion, and
Jason Love/Cartoonstock.com
other spheres of social life.
Recognizing and understanding diversity is one
of sociology’s central themes. Our gender, social class,
marital status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age—
among other factors—shape our beliefs, behavior, and
experiences. If, for example, you’re a white middle-class
male who attends a private college, your experiences
are very different from those of a female Vietnamese
immigrant who is struggling to pay expenses at a com-
emotional. In contrast, critical thinking involves knowl-
munity college.
edge and problem solving (Paul and Elder, 2007).
Increasingly, nations around the world are in-
Critical sociological thinking goes even further
tertwined through political and economic ties.
because we begin to understand how our indi-
What happens in other societies often has a di-
vidual lives, choices, and troubles are shaped by
rect or indirect impact on contemporary U.S.
race, gender, social class, and social institutions
life. Decisions in oil-producing countries, for
like the economy, politics, and education (Eck-
example, affect gas prices, spur the develop-
stein et al., 1995; Grauerholz and Bouma-
ment of hybrid cars that are less dependent
Holtrop, 2003). Table 1.1 summarizes
on oil, and stimulate research on alter-
some of the basic elements of critical
native sources of energy. Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock.com
sociological thinking.
1-3c Shaping Social and Public Policies

and Practices
Sociology is valuable in applied, clinical, and policy set- Table 1.1 What Is Critical Sociological Thinking?
tings because many jobs require understanding soci-
ety and research to create social change. According to Critical sociological thinking requires a combination of
a director of a research institute, sociology increased skills. Some of the basic elements include the ability to:
her professional contributions: “I can look at problems ●● rely on reason rather than emotion
of concern to the National Institutes of Health and say
‘here’s a different way to solve this problem’” (Nyseth
●● ask questions, avoid snap judgments, and examine popular
and unpopular beliefs
et al., 2011: 48).
●● recognize one’s own and others’ assumptions, prejudices,
1-3d Thinking Critically and points of view
We develop a sociological imagination not only when we

●● remain open to alternative explanations and theories
understand and can apply the concepts, but also when ●● examine competing evidence (see Chapter 2)
we can think, speak, and write critically. Much of our
●● understand how public policies affect private troubles
thinking and decision making is often impulsive and
6 SOC
Some well-known people who were sociology majors: Rev. Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, Michelle
Obama, Robin Williams, and Joe Theismann. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division[Leffler, Warren K/ LC-DIG-ds-00836]; U.S. National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA); Official White House Photo; Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com; Nate Fine/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images; iStock.com/belterz
1-3e Expanding Your Career 1-4 SOME ORIGINS OF

Opportunities
A degree in sociology is a springboard for many jobs
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
and professions. A national survey of under-graduate During college, most of my classmates and I postponed
sociology majors found that 44 percent were in ad- taking theory courses (regardless of our major) as long as
ministrative or management positions, 22 percent possible. “This stuff is boring, boring, boring,” we’d grump,
were employed in social service and counseling, 18 “and has nothing to do with the real world.” In fact, theo-
percent were in sales and marketing, and 12 percent rizing is part of our everyday lives. Every time you try to
were teachers (Senter et al., 2014; see also Senter and explain why your family and friends behave as they do, for
Spalter-Roth, 2016). example, you’re theorizing.
What specific skills do sociology majors learn that As people struggle to understand human behavior,
are useful in their jobs? Some of the most important are they develop theories. A theory is a set of statements
being better able to work with people (71 percent), to that explains why a phenomenon occurs. Theories pro-
organize information (69 percent), to write reports that duce knowledge, guide our research, help us analyze our
nonsociologists understand (61 percent), and to inter- findings, and, ideally, offer solutions for social problems.
pret research findings (56 percent) (Van Vooren and Sociologist James White (2005: 170–171) describes
Spalter-Roth, 2010). theories as “tools” that don’t profess to know “the truth”
In other cases, students major in sociology because but “may need replacing” over time as our understand-
it provides a broad liberal arts foundation for professions ing of society becomes more sophisticated. In effect,
such as law, education, and social work. The Medical theories evolve over time because of cultural and tech-
College Admission Test (MCAT) now includes material nological changes. You’ll see shortly, for example, that
from sociology because “Being a good physician is about sociological theories changed considerably after the rise
more than scientific knowledge. It’s about understanding of feminist scholarship during the late 1960s.
people—how they think, interact, and make decisions” Sociological theories didn’t emerge overnight. Nine-
(Olsen, 2016: 72). teenth-century thinkers grappled with some of the same
Even if you don’t major in sociology, developing questions that sociologists try to answer today: Why do
your sociological imagination can enrich your job skills. people behave as they do? What holds society together?
Sociology courses help you learn to think abstractly What pulls it apart? Of the many early sociological theo-
and critically, formulate problems, ask incisive ques- rists, some of the most influential were Auguste Comte,
tions, search for data in the most reliable and up-to-date Harriet Martineau, Émile
sources, organize material, and improve your oral pre- Durkheim, Karl Marx, Max
sentations (ASA Research Department, 2013; Spalter- theory a set of statements that
Weber, Jane Addams, and explains why a phenomenon occurs.
Roth et al., 2013). W. E. B. Du Bois.
1-4a Auguste Comte Martineau, a feminist and strong opponent of
slavery, denounced many aspects of capitalism as
Auguste Comte (1798–1857) coined alienating and degrading, and criticized dangerous
the term sociology and is often de- workplaces that often led to injury and death. Mar-
scribed as the “father of sociology.” tineau promoted improving women’s positions in the
Comte maintained that the study workforce through education, nondiscriminatory
of society must be
employment, and training programs. She advocated
empirical. That is,
women’s admission into medical schools and empha-
information should
sized issues such as infant care, the rights of the aged,
be based on ob-
suicide prevention, and other social problems
servations, experi-
Theories = ments, or other data
(Hoecker-Drysdale, 1992).
After a long tour of the United States, Martineau
Tools collection rather
than on ideology,
described American women as being socialized to be
subservient and dependent rather than equal marriage
religion, intuition,
partners. She also criticized American and European re-
or conventional
ligious institutions for expecting women to be pious and
Creata s Image s/Jupi ter Image s wisdom.
passive rather than educating them in philosophy and
He saw
politics. Most scholars, including sociologists, ridi-
sociology as the scientific study of two aspects
culed and dismissed such ideas as too radical.
of society: social statics and social dynamics. So-
cial statics investigates how principles of social
order explain a particular society, as well as the 1-4c Émile Durkheim
interconnections between institutions. Social
Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), a French
dynamics explores how individuals and
sociologist and writer, agreed with
societies change over time. Comte’s
Comte that societies are character-
emphasis on social order and change
ized by unity and cohesion because
within and across societies is still
their members are bound together
useful today because many sociolo-
by common interests and attitudes.
gists examine the relationships Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The Father of Sociology— Whereas Comte acknowledged
between education and politics
the importance of using scientific
(social statics), as well as how such Auguste Comte methods to study society, Dur-
interconnections change over time
kheim actually did so by poring over
(social dynamics).
official statistics to test a theory about suicide (Adams
and Sydie, 2001).
1-4b Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), an English author, pub- SOCIAL FACTS
lished several dozen books on a wide range of topics in so- To be scientific, Durkheim maintained, sociology must
cial science, politics, literature, and history. Her translation study social facts—aspects of social life,
and condensation of Auguste Comte’s difficult material external to the individual, that can be
for popular consumption was largely responsible for the measured. Sociologists can determine
dissemination of Comte’s work. “We might say, then, that material facts by examining demo-
sociology had parents of both sexes” (Adams and Sydie, graphic characteristics such as age, place
2001: 32). She emphasized of residence, and population size.
empirical information that is the importance of system- They can gauge nonmaterial
Spencer Arnold/Hulton
based on observations, experiments, atic data collection through facts, like communication
Archive/Getty Images
or other data collection rather than observation and interviews, processes, by observing
on ideology, religion, intuition, or
conventional wisdom.
and an objective analysis everyday behavior and
of data to explain events how people relate to each
social facts aspects of social and behavior. She also pub- other (see Chapters 3
life, external to the individual, that
can be measured.
lished the first sociology re- to 6). For contemporary Harriet Martineau
search methods textbook. sociologists, social facts
8 SOC
also include collecting and analyzing data on
social currents such as collective behavior and
Figure 1.1 U.S. Suicide Rates, by Sex and Age
social movements (see Chapter 16). Suicide deaths per 100,000 population
38.8
DIVISION OF LABOR Male
One of Durkheim’s central questions was how 29.7

26.6
people can be autonomous and individualistic 24.3
while being integrated in society. Social soli-
darity, or social cohesiveness and harmony, 18.2
according to Durkheim, is maintained by a

division of labor—an interdependence of 9.8
7.2 4.0
different tasks and occupations, characteristic 4.6
5.9
Female
of industrialized societies, that produces social
unity and facilitates change.
15–24 25–44 45–64 65–74 75 and over
As the division of labor becomes more
Age
specialized, people become increasingly de-
pendent on others for specific goods and ser- Source: Based on Curtin et al., 2016, Figures 2 and 3.
vices. Today, for example, many couples who
marry often contract “experts” (e.g., photographers, a complex interplay of depression, substance abuse, ac-
florists, deejays, caterers, bartenders, travel agents, and cess to guns, hopelessness because of terminal illnesses,
even “wedding planners”). and not being “connected” to family, friends, community
groups, and support systems that women tend to develop
SOCIAL INTEGRATION throughout their lives (American Association of Suicidol-
Durkheim was one of the first sociologists to test a the- ogy, 2009; see also Chapters 9 and 12).
ory using data. In his classic study, Suicide, Durkheim
(1897/1951) relied on extensive data collection to test 1-4d Karl Marx
his theory that suicide is associated with social integra- Karl Marx (1818–1883), a German social philosopher,
tion. He concluded that people who experience mean- is often described as the most influential social scientist
ingful social relationships in families, social groups, who ever lived. Marx, like Comte and Durkheim, tried to
and communities are less likely to commit suicide than explain the societal changes that were taking place dur-
those who feel alone, helpless, or hopeless. Thus, many ing the Industrial Revolution.
seemingly isolated individual acts, including suicide, The Industrial Revolution began in England around
are often the result of structural arrangements, such as 1780 and spread throughout Western Europe and the
weak social ties. United States during the nineteenth century. A number
We typically hear about high of technological inventions—like the spinning wheel,
teenage suicide rates, but the steam engine, and large weaving looms—enabled
they’re much higher at later the development of large-scale manufacturing and min-
ages. As in Durkheim’s day, ing industries over a relatively short period. The exten-
men have higher suicide rates sive mechanization shifted agricultural and home-based
than women across all age work to factories in cities. As masses of people migrated
groups (Figure 1.1), and white from small farms to factories to find jobs, urbanization
males age 85 and older are the and capitalism grew rapidly.
Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo
most likely to take their own lives

(National Center for Health Statis- CAPITALISM
tics, 2015). Unlike his predecessors social solidarity social
Durkheim’s connec- and contemporaries, Marx cohesiveness and harmony.
tion of social integration (1867/1967, 1964) main- division of labor an
to the suicide rate is still tained that economic issues interdependence of different tasks
relevant today. The high produce divisiveness rather and occupations, characteristic of
industrialized societies, that produces
Émile Durkheim suicide rates of older than social solidarity. For
social unity and facilitates change.
white men are due to Marx, the most important
social change was the development of capitalism, an of our humanness.” Instead of collaboration,
economic system in which the ownership of the means of a capitalistic society encourages competi-
production—such as land, factories, large sums of money, tion, backstabbing, and “looking out for
and machines—is private. As a result, Marx saw industrial number one.”
society as composed of three social classes: According to Marx, capitalists are also
▸▸ capitalists—the ruling elite who own the means of alienated. They regard goods and ser-
producing wealth (such as factories) vices as important simply because
they’re sources of profit. Capitalists
▸▸ petit bourgeoisie—small business owners and don’t care who buys or sells their
workers who still have their own means of production products, how the workers feel
but might end up in the proletariat because they’re about the products they make,
driven out by competition or their businesses fail or whether buyers value the
▸▸ proletariat—the masses of workers who depend on products. The major fo-
Roger Viollet Collection/Getty Images

wages to survive, have few resources, and make up cus, for capitalists,
the working class is on increasing
profits as much
CLASS CONFLICT as possible
Marx believed that society is divided into the haves rather than
(capitalists) and the have-nots (proletariat). For Marx, feeling “con- Comstock/Stockbyte/Getty Images
capitalism is a class system in which conflict between nected” to the

products or services Karl Marx
the classes is common and society is anything but cohe-
sive. Instead, class antagonisms revolve around struggles they sell. Every
between the capitalists, who increase their profits by year, for example, companies must recall cars, pharma-
exploiting workers, and workers, who resist but give in ceutical items, toys, and food that cause injuries, illness,
because they depend on capitalists for jobs. or death.
Marx argued that there’s a close relationship be-
tween inequality, social conflict, and social class.
History, he maintained, is a series of class struggles
between capitalists and workers. As wealth becomes
more concentrated in the hands of a few capital-
ists, Marx predicted, the ranks of an increasingly dis-
satisfied proletariat would swell, leading to bloody
revolution and eventually a classless society. The Occupy
Wall Street movement showed that thousands of
Americans are very unhappy about the growing inequal-
ity between the haves and the have-nots, but there hasn’t
Daryl Lang/Shutterstock.com
been a “bloody revolution” in the United States, unlike
some countries in the Middle East.
ALIENATION
In industrial capitalist systems, Marx (1844/1964) con-
tended, alienation—feeling separated from one’s Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest movement
group or society—is common across all social classes. against corporate greed, corruption, and influence
Workers feel alienated because they don’t own or con- on government. It began in mid-September, 2011,
in New York City’s Wall Street financial district.
trol either the means of
The OWS slogan, “We are the 99%,” referred to
capitalism an economic system production or the prod-
U.S. income and wealth inequality between the
based on the private ownership uct. Because meaningful
of property and the means of wealthiest 1 percent and the rest of the population.
labor is what makes us OWS received global attention and spawned similar
production.
human, Marx maintained, movements worldwide but was short-lived (see
alienation feeling separated our workplace has alien- Chapter 16).
from one’s group or society.
ated us “from the essence
10 SOC
1-4e Max Weber SUBJECTIVE
UNDERSTANDING
Max Weber (pronounced VAY-ber; 1864–1920) was a
German sociologist, economist, legal scholar, historian, Weber posited that an
and politician. Unlike Marx’s emphasis on economics as a understanding of society
major factor in explaining society, Weber focused on so- requires a “subjective”
understanding of behav-
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

cial organization, a subjective understanding of behavior,
and a value-free sociology. ior. Such understanding,
or verstehen (pronounced
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION fer-SHTAY-en), involves
For Weber, economic factors were important, but ideas, knowing how people perceive
religious values, ideologies, and charismatic leaders the world in which they live.
were just as crucial in shaping and changing societies. Weber described two types
He maintained that a complete understanding of soci- of verstehen. In direct ob-
ety requires an analysis of the social organization and servational under-
interrelationships among economic, political, and cul- standing, the social Max Weber
tural institutions. In his Protestant Ethic and the Spirit scientist observes a
of Capitalism, for example, Weber (1920/1958) argued person’s facial ex-
that the self-denial fostered by Calvinism supported the pressions, gestures, and listens to his/her words. In
rise of capitalism and shaped many of our current values explanatory understanding, the social scientist tries to
about working hard (see Chapters 3 and 6). grasp the intention and context of the behavior.
Is It Possible to Be a Value-Free Sociologist?

Max Weber was concerned about popular professors
who took political positions that pleased many of their
students. He felt that these professors were behaving
Can sociologists
improperly because science, including sociology, must be value free—
be “value free.” Faculty must set their personal values
aside to make a contribution to society. According to a
especially when
sociologist who agrees with Weber, sociology’s weak- they have strong
ness is its tendency toward moralism and ideology:
Many people become sociologists out of an impulse to
feelings about many
reform society, fight injustice, and help people. Those societal issues?
sentiments are noble, but unless they are tempered by
skepticism, discipline, and scientific detachment, they
Should they be ?
can be destructive. Especially when you are morally
outraged and burning with a desire for action, you
need to be cautious (Massey, 2007: B12). shouldn’t apologize for being subjective in their
teaching and research. By staying silent, social scien-
Some argue that being value free is a myth be-
tists “cede the conversation to those with the loudest
cause it’s impossible for a scholar’s attitudes and
voices or deepest pockets . . . people with mega-
opinions to be totally divorced from her or his schol-
phones who spread sensational misinformation” that
arship (Gouldner, 1962). Many sociologists, after all,
deprives the public of the best available data (Wang,
do research on topics that they consider significant
2015: A48).
and about which they have strong views.
Can sociologists really be value free—especially
Others maintain that one’s values should be pas-
when they have strong feelings about many societal
sionately partisan, should frame research issues, and
issues? Should they be?
should improve society (Feagin, 2001). Sociologists
If a person bursts into tears (direct observational and scholarly journals, as well as many
understanding), the observer knows what the person books on the everyday life of urban
may be feeling (anger, sorrow, and so on). An explana- neighborhoods, especially the ef-
tory understanding goes a step further by spelling out fects of social disorganization
the reason for the behavior (rejection by a loved one, and immigration. Much of her
frustration if you lose your smartphone, humiliation if a work contributed to symbolic
boss yells at you in public). interaction, an emerging school
of thought that you’ll read about
Wallace Kirkland//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

VALUE-FREE SOCIOLOGY shortly. One of Addams’ greatest
One of Weber’s most lasting and intellectual legacies was her em-
controversial views was the notion phasis on applying knowledge to
that sociologists must be as objec- everyday problems. Her pioneer-
tive, or “value free,” as possible ing work in criminology included
in analyzing society. A researcher ecological maps of Chicago
who is value free is one who sep- that were later credited to men
arates her or his personal values, (Moyer, 2003).
opinions, ideology, and beliefs
from scientific research.
Jane Addams with a child
1-4g W. E. B. Du Bois
During Weber’s time, the gov- W. E. B. Du Bois (pronounced
ernment and other organizations at Hull House Do-BOICE; 1868–1963) was a
demanded that university faculty prominent black sociologist, writer,
teach the “right” ideas. Weber encouraged everyone to editor, social reformer, and orator. The author of almost
be involved as citizens, but he maintained that educa- two dozen books on Africans and black Americans, Du
tors and scholars should be as dispassionate as possible Bois spent most of his life responding to the critics and
politically and ideologically. The task of the teacher, detractors of black life. He was the first African American
Weber argued, was to provide students with knowledge to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University, but once re-
and scientific experience, not to “imprint” the teacher’s marked, “I was in Harvard but not of it.”
personal political views and value judgments (Gerth and Du Bois helped found the National Association for
Mills, 1946). “Is It Possible to Be a Value-Free Sociolo- the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and ed-
gist?” examines this issue further. ited its journal, Crisis. The problem of the twentieth cen-
tury, he wrote, is the problem of the color line. Du Bois
believed that the race problem was one of ignorance,
1-4f Jane Addams and advocated a “cure” for prejudice and discrimination.
Jane Addams (1860–1935) was a social worker who co- Such cures included promoting black political power and
founded Hull House, one of the first settlement houses civil rights and providing blacks with a higher education
in Chicago that served the neighborhood poor. An active rather than funneling them into techical schools.
reformer throughout her life, Jane Addams was a leader These and other writings were unpopular at a time
in the women’s suffrage movement and, in 1931, was the when Booker T. Washington, a well-known black educa-
first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace tor, encouraged black people to be patient instead of de-
Prize for her advocacy of negotiating, rather than waging manding equal rights. As a result, Du Bois was dismissed
war, to settle disputes. as a radical by his contemporaries but was rediscovered
Sociologist Mary Jo Deegan (1986) describes Jane by a new generation of black scholars during the 1970s
Addams as “the greatest woman sociologist of her day.” and 1980s. Among his many contributions, Du Bois ex-
However, she was ignored by her colleagues at the Univer- amined the oppressive effects of race and social class,
sity of Chicago (the first sociology department established advocated women’s rights, and played a key role in re-
in the United States in 1892) because discrimination shaping black–white relations in America (Du Bois, 1986;
against women sociologists Lewis, 1993).
value free separating one’s was “rampant” (p. 8). All of these and other early thinkers agreed that
personal values, opinions, Despite such discrimi- people are transformed by each other’s actions, social
ideology, and beliefs from
nation, Addams published patterns, and historical changes. They and other scholars
scientific research.
articles in many popular shaped contemporary sociological theories.
12 SOC
within which behavior occurs. Education
1-5 CONTEMPORARY structures like colleges, for instance, aren’t
only organized internally in terms of who
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES does what and when, but depend on other
structures like government (to provide fund-
How one defines “contemporary sociological ing), business (to produce textbooks and
theory” is somewhat arbitrary. The mid-twen- construct buildings), and medicine (to en-
tieth century is a good starting point because sure that students, staff, and faculty are
“the late 1950s and 1960s have, in historical healthy).
Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive /Getty Images

hindsight, been regarded as significant years of
momentous changes in the social and cultural life FUNCTIONS AND
of most Western societies” (Adams and Sydie, DYSFUNCTIONS
2001: 479). Some of the sociological per-
Each structure fulfills certain
spectives had earlier origins, but all ma-
functions, or purposes and ac-
tured during this period.
tivities, to meet different needs
Sociologists typically use more than
that contribute to a society’s
one theory to explain behavior. The
stability and survival (Merton,
theories view our social world some-
what differently, but all of them ana- W. E. B. Du Bois 1938). The purpose of education,
for instance, is to transmit knowl-
lyze why society is organized the way it
edge to the young, to teach them
is and why we behave as we do. Four of the most influ-
to be good citizens, and to prepare them for jobs (see
ential theoretical perspectives are functionalism, conflict
Chapter 13).
theory, feminist theories, and symbolic interaction.
Dysfunctions are social patterns that have a nega-
tive impact on a group or society. When one part of
1-5a Functionalism society isn’t working, it affects other parts, generating
Functionalism (also known as structural function- conflict, divisiveness, and social problems. Consider reli-
alism) maintains that society is a complex system of gion. In the United States, the Catholic Church’s stance
interdependent parts that work together to ensure a on issues such as not ordaining women to be priests and
society’s survival. Much of contemporary functional- denouncing abortion and homosexuality has produced
ism grew out of the work of Auguste Comte and Émile a rift between those who embrace or question papal
Durkheim, both of whom believed that human behav- edicts. In other countries, religious intolerance has led
ior is a result of social structures that promote order to wars and terrorism (see Chapter 13).
and integration in society.
One of their contemporaries, English philosopher MANIFEST AND LATENT FUNCTIONS
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), used an organic analogy There are two kinds of func-
to explain the evolution of societies. To survive, Spen- tions. Manifest functions functionalism (structural
cer (1862/1901) wrote, our vital organs—like the heart, are intended and recog- functionalism) maintains that
lungs, kidneys, liver, and so on—must function together. society is a complex system of
nized; they’re present and interdependent parts that work
Similarly, the parts of a society, like the parts of a body, clearly evident. Latent together to ensure a society’s
work together to maintain the whole structure. functions are unintended survival.
and unrecognized; they’re dysfunctions social patterns
SOCIETY IS A SOCIAL SYSTEM present but not immediately that have a negative impact on a
Prominent American sociologists, especially Talcott Par- obvious. group or society.
sons (1902–1979) and Robert K. Merton (1910–2003), Consider the mar- manifest functions purposes
developed the earlier ideas of structure and function. riage ceremony. Its primary and activities that are intended
For these and other functionalists, a society is a system manifest function is to pub- and recognized; they’re present
and clearly evident.
that is composed of major institutions such as govern- licize the formation of a
ment, religion, the economy, education, medicine, and new family unit and to le- latent functions purposes
the family. gitimize sexual intercourse and activities that are unintended
and unrecognized; they’re present
Each institution or other social group has structures, and childbirth (even though
but not immediately obvious.
or organized units, that are connected to each other and both might occur outside of
1-5b Conflict Theory
Sociology and Other Social Sciences: In contrast to functionalism—
which emphasizes order,
What’s the Difference? stability, cohesion, and con-
How would different social scien- sensus—conflict theory
tists study the same phenomenon, examines how and why
Mitchell Funk/Photographer’s Choice/

such as homelessness? Criminolo- groups disagree, struggle
gists might examine whether crime over power, and compete
rates are higher among homeless for scarce resources (like
people than in the general popula- property, wealth, and pres-
tion. Economists might measure the tige). Conflict theorists see
Getty Images
financial impact of programs for the disagreement and the re-
homeless. Political scientists might sulting changes in society as
study whether and how government natural, inevitable, and even
officials respond to homelessness. Psychologists might be interested in how desirable.
homelessness affects individuals’ emotional and mental health. Social workers
SOURCES OF
are most likely to try to provide needed services (e.g., food, shelter, medical care,
CONFLICT
and jobs). Sociologists have been most interested in examining homelessness
across gender, age, and social class, and explaining how this social problem dev- The conflict perspective has
astates families and communities. a long history. As you saw
According to sociologist Herbert Gans (2005), sociologists “study everything.” earlier, Karl Marx predicted
There are currently 43 different subfields in sociology, and the number contin- that conflict would result
ues to increase, because sociologists’ interests range across many areas. from widespread economic
inequality, and W. E. B. Du
Bois criticized U.S. soci-
ety for its ongoing and di-
visive racial discrimination.
marriage). The latent functions of a marriage ceremony
Since the 1960s, many sociologists—especially feminist
include communicating a “hands-off” message to suit-
and minority scholars—have emphasized that the key
ors, providing the new couple with household goods and
sources of economic inequity in any society include race,
products through bridal showers and wedding gifts, and
ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation.
redefining family boundaries to include in-laws or step-
Conflict theorists agree with functionalists that
family members.
many societal arrangements are functional. But, conflict
CRITICAL EVALUATION theorists ask, who benefits? And who loses? When cor-
porations merge, workers in lower-end jobs are often laid
You’ll see in later chapters that functionalism is useful
off while the salaries and benefits of corporate execu-
in seeing the “big picture” of interrelated structures and
tives soar and the value of stocks (usually held by higher
functions. Its influence waned during the 1960s and
1970s, however, because functionalism was so focused
on order and stability that it often ignored social change.
For example, functionalism couldn’t explain the many Sociologists
rapid changes sparked by the civil rights, women’s, and
gay movements.
typically use more
A second and related criticism is that functional- than one theory to
ism often glosses over the widespread inequality that a
handful of powerful people create and maintain. Con-
explain behavior
flict theorists, especially, and why society is
conflict theory examines how have pointed out that what’s
and why groups disagree, struggle functional for some privi- organized the way
over power, and compete for
scarce resources.
leged groups is dysfunc- it is.
tional for many others.
14 SOC
Among other manifest functions, schools transmit
knowledge and prepare children for adult economic
roles. Among their latent functions, schools provide
matchmaking opportunities. What are some other
examples of education’s manifest and latent functions?
skynesher/E+/Getty Images
and 1970s, men—who dominated universities and schol-

arship—were largely “blind to the importance of gen-
der” (Kramer and Beutel, 2015: 17).
Feminist scholars agree with contemporary conflict
theorists that much of society is characterized by tension
social classes) rise. Thus, mergers might be functional
and struggle, but feminist theories go a step further
for people at the upper end of the socioeconomic ladder,
by focusing on women’s social, economic, and political
but dysfunctional for those on the lower rungs.
inequality. The theories maintain that women often suf-
SOCIAL INEQUALITY fer injustice primarily because of their gender, rather
than personal inadequacies like low educational levels
Unlike functionalists, conflict theorists see society not as
or not caring about success. Feminist scholars assert
cooperative and harmonious, but as a system of wide-
that people should be treated fairly and equally regard-
spread inequality. For conflict theorists, there’s a contin-
less not only of their sex but also of other characteristics
uous tension between the haves and the have-nots, most
such as their race, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion,
of whom are children, women, minorities, people with
class, sexual orientation, or disability. They emphasize
low incomes, and the poor.
that women should be freed from traditionally oppres-
Many conflict theorists focus on how those in
sive expectations, constraints, roles, and behavior (see
power—typically wealthy white Anglo-Saxon Protestant
Reger, 2012).
males (WASPs)—dominate political and economic deci-
sion making in U.S. society. This group controls a variety FOCUSING ON GENDER
of institutions—like education, criminal justice, and the Feminist scholars have documented women’s historical
media—and passes laws that benefit primarily people exclusion from most sociological analyses (see, for ex-
like themselves (see Chapters 8 and 11). ample, Smith, 1987, and Adams and
CRITICAL EVALUATION “Sometimes Sydie, 2001). Before the 1960s women’s
movement in the United States, very few
Conflict theory explains how societ-
ies create and cope with disagreements.
the best sociologists published anything about
gender roles, women’s sexuality, fathers,
However, some have criticized conflict man for the or intimate partner violence. According
theorists for overemphasizing competition
and coercion at the expense of order and
job isn’t.” to sociologist Myra Ferree (2005: B10),
during the 1970s, “the Harvard social-
stability. Inequality exists and struggles science library could fit all its books on
over scarce resources occur, critics agree, Author Unknown gender inequalities onto a single half-
but conflict theorists often ignore coop- shelf.” Because of feminist scholars, many
eration and harmony. Voters, for example, researchers—both women and men—now routinely
can boot dominant white males out of office and replace include gender as an important research variable on
them with women and minority group members. Critics both micro and macro levels.
also point out that the have-nots can increase their power Globally, except for some predominantly Muslim
through negotiation, bargaining, lawsuits, and strikes. countries, solid majorities of both women and men
support gender equality and agree that women should
1-5c Feminist Theories be able to work outside
You’ll recall that influential male theorists generally the home. When jobs are feminist theories examine
women’s social, economic, and
overlooked or marginalized early female sociologists’ scarce, however, many
political inequality.
contributions. Until the feminist activism of the 1960s women and men believe
that men should be given preferen- those women voted for him anyway
tial treatment (“Gender Equality. . .,” “I myself have (Hartig et al., 2016). At least 90 per-
2010). Thus, even equal rights propo-
nents place a higher priority on men’s
never been cent of people vote for their party’s
candidate, but Trump appealed to
economic rights. able to find many white women, particularly
those without a college degree and
LISTENING TO MANY VOICES
out precisely those living in rural areas (Table 1.2).
Feminist scholars contend that what feminism There are many reasons for a pres-
idential candidate’s victory, but some
gender inequality is central to all
behavior, ranging from everyday in-
is; I only know observers have attributed Clinton’s
defeat to many voters’—particularly
teractions to political and economic that people working-class white women’s—frus-
institutions, but feminist theories
encompass many perspectives. For call me a femi- trations about diminished possibili-
ties for their husbands and sons to
example, liberal feminism endorses
social and legal reform to create equal
nist whenever provide for their families, fears about
opportunities for women. Radical I express sen- downward mobility and poverty, con-
cerns about a growing number of
feminism sees male dominance in so-
cial institutions (e.g., as the economy
timents that immigrants, and a scarcity of jobs in
small towns and rural areas (Feath-
and politics) as the major cause of differenti- erstone, 2016; Morin, 2016; Roberts
women’s inequality. Global feminism
focuses on how the intersection of ate me from a and Ely, 2016). In contrast, Trump’s
slogan to “Make America Great
gender with race, social class, and col-
onization has exploited women in the
doormat.” Again” resonated with millions of
voters, especially those without col-
developing world (see Lengermann
and Niebrugge-Brantley, 1992). Most Rebecca West, British lege degrees, who feel economically
disenfranchised.
of us are feminists because we en- journalist
During the 2016 presiden-
dorse equal opportunities for women
tial race, a large majority of mil-
and men in the economy, politics,
lennials (people born after 1980) supported Bernie
education, and other institutions.
Sanders—a 73-year-old senator from Vermont—over
CRITICAL EVALUATION Clinton or Trump. Sanders’ platform called for the most
progressive and drastic changes to the U.S. political
Feminist scholars have challenged employment dis- and economic structures (e.g., free tuition, changes in
crimination, particularly practices that routinely ex- energy policies, and greater equality of wealth). Some
clude women who aren’t part of the “old boy network” analysts believe that millennial enthusiasm for Sanders
(Wenneras and Wold, 1997). One criticism, however,
is an example of a “feminist generation gap” that has
is that many feminists are part of an “old girl net- increased because younger and older feminists have
work” that hasn’t always welcomed different points of different values, convictions, and goals (Norman, 2016;
view from black, Asian American, American Indian, Rosen, 2016).
Muslim, Latina, lesbian, working-class, and disabled Some critics, including feminists, also question
women (Lynn and Todoroff, 1995; Jackson, 1998; whether feminist scholars have lost their bearings by
Sánchez, 2013). concentrating on personal issues like greater sexual
A second criticism is that feminist perspectives of- freedom rather than broader social issues, particu-
ten overlook gender, social class, and generational gaps. larly wage inequality (Chesler, 2006; Shteir, 2013;
Shortly before the 2016 Rosen, 2016).
presidential election, 69
symbolic interaction
theory (interactionism) percent of women voters
1-5d Symbolic Interaction
examines people’s everyday said that Donald Trump,
behavior through the the Republican nominee, Symbolic interaction theory (sometimes called in-
communication of knowledge,
didn’t respect women. teractionism) is a micro-level perspective that examines
ideas, beliefs, and attitudes.
However, 42 percent of people’s everyday behavior through the communication
16 SOC
Table 1.2 How Women Voted in the 2016 Presidential Election, by Selected Characteristics
PERCENTAGE WHO VOTED FOR…
HILLARY CLINTON DONALD TRUMP

(DEMOCRAT) (REPUBLICAN) OTHER/NO ANSWER
White women 42 53 5
Black women 94 4 2
Latinas 68 26 6
College-educated white women 51 45 4
White women without a college degree 34 62 4
Rural white women 34 62 4
Sources: Based on Huang et al., 2016; Levinson, 2016; Malone, 2016; Mohdin, 2016; Morin, 2016.
of knowledge, ideas, beliefs, and attitudes. Whereas a colleague in the hall, or addressing an audience at a
functionalists, conflict theorists, and some feminist theo- professional conference.
ries emphasize structures and large (macro) systems, For symbolic interactionists, society is socially con-
symbolic interactionists focus on process and keep the structed through human interpretation (O’Brien and
person at the center of their analysis. Kollock, 2001). That is, meanings aren’t inherent but are
There have been many influential symbolic inter- created and modified through interaction with others.
actionists, whom we’ll cover in later chapters. In brief, For example, a daughter who has batting practice with
George Herbert Mead’s (1863–1931) assertion that her dad will probably interpret her father’s behavior as
the human mind and self arise in the process of social loving and involved. In contrast, she’ll see batting prac-
communication became the foundation of the symbolic tice with her baseball coach as less personal and more
interaction schools of thought in sociology and social goal-oriented. In this sense, our interpretations of even
psychology. Herbert Blumer (1900–1987) coined the the same behavior, such as batting practice, vary across
term symbolic interactionism in 1937, developed Mead’s situations and depend on the people with whom we
ideas, and proposed that people interpret or “define” interact.
each other’s actions, especially through symbols, instead
of merely reacting to them. SYMBOLS AND SHARED MEANINGS
Erving Goffman (1922–1982) enriched these earlier
Symbolic interaction looks at subjective, interpersonal
theories by examining human interaction in everyday sit-
meanings and how we interact with and influence each
uations ranging from jobs to funerals. Among his other
other by communicating through symbols—words, ges-
contributions, Goffman used “dramaturgical analysis” to
tures, or pictures that stand for something and that can
compare everyday social interaction to a theatrical pre-
have different meanings for different individuals.
sentation (see Chapter 5).
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many Americans dis-
played the flag on buildings, bridges, homes, and cars to
CONSTRUCTING MEANING show their solidarity and pride in the United States. In
Our actions are based on social interaction in the contrast, some groups in the Middle East burned the U.S.
sense that people take each other into account in their flag to show their contempt for U.S. culture and policies.
own behavior. Thus, we act differently in different social Thus, symbols are powerful forms of communication that
settings and continuously adjust our behavior, includ- show how people feel and interpret a situation.
ing our body language, as we interact (Goffman, 1959; To interact effec-
Blumer, 1969). A woman’s interactions with her hus- tively, our symbols must social interaction a process
in which people take each other
band differ from those with her children. And she will have shared meanings, or
into account in their own behavior.
interact still differently when she is teaching, talking to agreed-on definitions. One
of the most important of these shared meanings is the arrangements and practices benefit those in power. For
definition of the situation, or the way we perceive real- instance, people are usually powerless when corpora-
ity and react to it. Relationships often end, for example, tions transfer jobs overseas or cut the pension funds of
because people view emotional closeness differently retired employees.
(“We broke up because my partner wanted more sex. Some also believe that interaction theory is flawed
I wanted more communication.”). We typically learn because it ignores the irrational and unconscious as-
our definitions of the situation through interaction with pects of human behavior (LaRossa and Reitzes, 1993).
significant others—especially parents, friends, relatives, People don’t always consider the meaning of their
and teachers—who play an important role in our social- actions or behave as reflectively as interactionists as-
ization (as you’ll see in Chapters 4 and 5). sume. Instead, we often act impulsively or say hurt-
ful things without weighing the consequences of our
CRITICAL EVALUATION actions or words.
Unlike other theorists, symbolic interactionists show
how people play an active role in shaping their lives on a 1-5e Other Theoretical Approaches
micro level. One of the most common criticisms is that Table 1.3 summarizes the major sociological perspec-
symbolic interaction overlooks the widespread impact of tives that you’ve just read about. However, new theoreti-
macro-level factors (e.g., economic forces, social move- cal perspectives arise because society is always changing.
ments, and public policies) on our everyday behavior and For example, postmodern theory analyzes contemporary
relationships. During economic downturns, for example, societies that are characterized by postindustrialization,
unemployment and ensuing financial problems create consumerism, and global communications.
considerable interpersonal conflict among couples and Sociology, like other social sciences, has subfields.
families (see Chapters 11 and 12). Symbolic interaction The subfields—such as socialization, deviance, and so-
rarely considers such macro-level changes in explaining cial stratification—offer specific theories that reinforce
everyday behavior. and illustrate functionalist, conflict, feminist, and inter-
A related criticism is that interactionists some- actionist approaches. No single theory explains social
times have an optimistic and unrealistic view of life completely. Each theory, however, provides differ-
people’s everyday choices. Most of us enjoy little flex- ent insights that guide sociological research, the topic
ibility in our daily lives because deeply embedded social of Chapter 2.
Lane Oatey/Blue Jean Images/Getty Images
José Nicolas/Sygma/Getty Images
For many people, a diamond, especially in an engagement ring, signifies love and commitment. For others,
diamonds represent Western exploitation of poor people in Africa who are paid next to nothing for their
backbreaking labor in mining these stones.
18 SOC
Table 1.3 Leading Contemporary Perspectives in Sociology
THEORETICAL SYMBOLIC
PERSPECTIVE FUNCTIONALISM CONFLICT FEMINIST INTERACTION
Level of
Analysis Macro Macro Macro and Micro Micro
Key Points ●● Society is composed ●● Life is a continuous ●● Women experience ●● People act on the basis
of interrelated, struggle between widespread inequality in of the meaning they
mutually dependent the haves and the society because, as a group, attribute to others.
parts. have-nots. they have little power. Meaning grows out of the
●● Structures and ●● People compete for ●● Gender, ethnicity, race, age, social interaction that we
functions maintain limited resources sexual orientation, and social have with others.
a society’s or group’s that are controlled class—rather than a person’s ●● People continuously
stability, cohesion, by a small number of intelligence and ability—explain reinterpret and reevaluate
and continuity. powerful groups. many of our social interactions their knowledge and
●● Dysfunctional ●● Society is based on and lack of access to resources. information in their
activities that threaten inequality in terms of ●● Social change is possible only everyday encounters.
a society’s or group’s ethnicity, race, social if we change our institutional
survival are controlled class, and gender. structures and our day-to-day
or eliminated. interactions.
Key ●● What holds society ●● How are resources ●● Do men and women ●● How does social
Questions together? How does distributed in a experience social situations in interaction influence our
it work? society? the same way? behavior?
●● What is the structure ●● Who benefits when ●● How does our everyday ●● How do social interactions
of society? resources are limited? behavior reflect our gender, change across situations
●● What functions does Who loses? social class, age, race, ethnicity, and between people?
society perform? ●● How do those in sexual orientation, and other ●● Why does our behavior
power protect their factors? change because of our
●● How do structures
and functions privileges? ●● How do macro structures beliefs, attitudes, values,
contribute to social ●● When does conflict (such as the economy and the and roles?
stability? lead to social change? political system) shape our ●● How is “right” and
opportunities? “wrong” behavior defined,
●● How can we change current interpreted, reinforced, or
structures through social discouraged?
activism?
Example ●● A college education ●● Most low-income ●● Gender affects decisions about ●● College students succeed
increases one’s job families can’t afford a major and which college to or fail based on their
opportunities and to pay for a college attend. degree of academic
income. education. engagement.
STUDY TOOLS 1
READY TO STUDY? IN THE BOOK, YOU CAN: decisions and evaluate the data that shape this social
□□ Check your understanding of what you’ve read with the Test experience.
Your Learning Questions provided on the Chapter Review □□ Analyze: Critically examine your basic assumptions and
Card at the back of the book. compare your views on social phenomena to those of your
□□ Tear out the Chapter Review Card for a handy summary of classmates and other MindTap users. Assess your ability
the chapter and key terms. to draw connections between social data and theoretical
concepts.
ONLINE AT CENGAGEBRAIN.COM WITHIN MINDTAP YOU CAN: □□ Create: Produce a video demonstrating connections between
□□ Explore: Develop your sociological imagination by your own life and larger sociological concepts.
considering the experiences of others. Make critical □□ Collaborate: Join your classmates to create a capstone project.
2 Examining Our Social World
Franck Boston/Shutterstock.com
© Photo Credit Here
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you will be able to…
2-1 Compare knowledge based on tradition, authority, and research.

After finishing
2-2 Explain why sociological research is important in our everyday lives.
this chapter go to
2-3 Describe the scientific method.
PAGE 37 for
2-4 Describe the basic steps of the research process.
STUDY TOOLS
2-5 Compare and illustrate the five most common sociological data collection methods, including
their strengths and limitations.
2-6 Explain why ethics are important in scientific research.
20 SOC
Spring break is all about beer fests, wet T-shirt contests, frolicking on the beach,
and hooking up, right? Maybe not. A national survey found that 70 percent of college
students stay home with their parents, and 84 percent of those who throng to
vacation spots report consuming alcohol in moderation (The Nielsen Company, 2008).
If you suspect that these numbers are too high or too low and wonder how the survey
was done, you’re thinking like a researcher, the focus of this chapter.
W H AT D O YOU T H I N K ? 2-2 WHY IS SOCIOLOGICAL

People can find data to support any opinion they have. RESEARCH IMPORTANT
1 2
strongly agree
3 4 5 6 7
strongly disagree
IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES?
In contrast to knowledge based on tradition and author-
ity, sociological research is important in our everyday
lives for several reasons:
2-1 HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT 1. It counteracts misinformation. Blatant dishon-
esty and misinformation spread rapidly through
WE KNOW? digital communication. In 2015, violent crimes were
77 percent below their 1993 level, but 70 percent
Much of our knowledge is based on tradition, a hand- of Americans believe that the rate has increased
ing down of statements, beliefs, and customs from gen- (Gramlich, 2016; Truman and Morgan, 2016). Such
eration to generation (“The groom’s parents should pay unfounded fears—fueled by mass shootings, the
for the wedding rehearsal dinner”). Another common media’s focus on crime, powerful lobby groups
source of knowledge is authority, a socially accepted such as the National Rifle Association, and Donald
source of information that includes “experts,” par- Trump’s false claim that “inner city crime is reach-
ents, government officials, police, judges, and religious ing record levels”—are partly responsible for the
leaders (“My mom says that . . .” or “According to the growth of gun ownership in the past 20 years (Cohn
American Heart Association . . .”). et al., 2013; see also Chapter 7).
Knowledge based on tradition and authority simpli- 2. It exposes myths. According to many newspapers
fies our lives because it provides us with basic rules about and television shows, suicide rates are highest during
socially and legally acceptable behavior. The information the Christmas holidays. In fact, suicide rates are
can be misleading or wrong, however. Suppose a 2-year- lowest in December and highest in the spring and fall
old throws a temper tantrum at a family barbecue. One (but the reasons for these peaks are unclear). Another
adult comments, “What that kid needs is a smack on the myth is that more women are victims of domestic
behind.” Someone else immediately disagrees: “All kids violence on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other
go through this stage. Just ignore it.” day of the year, presumably because men become
Who’s right? To answer this and other questions, intoxicated and abusive. In fact, intimate partner
sociologists rely on research methods, organized violence rates are high, and consistent, throughout
and systematic procedures to gain knowledge about a the year (Romer, 2011; “Super Bull Sunday,” 2015).
particular topic. Much research shows, for example,
that neither ignoring a problem nor inflicting physical 3. It helps explain why people behave as they do. A
punishment (like spanking) stops a toddler’s bad behav- recent study predicted that older drivers, particularly
ior. Instead, most young children’s misbehavior can be those age 70 and older,
curbed by having simple rules, being consistent in disci- would be more likely research methods organized
than younger drivers and systematic procedures to gain
plining misbehavior, praising good behavior, and setting knowledge about a particular topic.
a good example (see Benokraitis, 2015). to have fatal crashes,
CHAPTER 2: Examining Our Social World 21
“Facebook Causes 20 Percent of Today’s Divorces.” What?!
The founder and self-described leader of the United for use of the word Facebook, and found 989 in-
Kingdom’s online divorce site (Divorce-Online) sent stances in about 5,000 petitions. Divorce-Online
out a press release titled “Facebook Is Bad for Your never said that the petitions were only those
Marriage—Research Finds,” and claimed that Face- filed by members of the American Academy of
book causes 20 percent of today’s divorces. News Matrimonial Lawyers, who comprise a very small
media around the world ran stories about this press percentage of all divorce attorneys. Two years later,
release with headlines such as “Facebook to Blame many Internet sites and blogs were still spreading
for Divorce Boom.” You’ll see in Chapter 12 that the fiction that “Facebook Causes Divorce” (see
there’s no divorce boom, so where did the 20 percent Bialik, 2011). In reality, as you’ll see in Chapter
number come from? 12, there are a number of interrelated macro- and
In 2009, the managing director of Divorce- micro-level reasons for divorce; there’s no single
Online scanned its online divorce petition database “cause,” much less Facebook.
but found the opposite (Braitman et al., 2011). The All of these claims are false, and as you’ll see
researchers couldn’t explain why their prediction in Chapter 14, endanger our health.
turned out to be false. Sociologists posit that A fact-checking website found that,
older Americans are less likely to have fatal during the 2016 presidential campaign,
crashes because many avoid driving at night only 25 percent of Hillary Clinton’s and
or during bad weather, and they’re much less 4 percent of Donald Trump’s statements
likely than younger drivers to use cell phones were true (PolitiFact, 2016). Fake news—
or text while driving (Halsey, 2010). misinformation that deliberately misleads
4. It affects social policies. people for financial, political, or other
According to the captain of a large gain—has been around for a long
North Carolina Police Department, RTimages/Shutterstock.com time. About 84 percent of Americans
“Research dictates everything that officers do, are confident that they can identify
whether we realize it or not,” in reducing crime. false news (Barthel et al., 2016).
Examples include tracking criminal activity in high- Many of us, however, are susceptible to confirmation
risk locations, implementing research-based policies bias, a tendency to embrace and recall information that
in training patrol officers and detectives, and managing confirms our beliefs and ignores or downplays contrary
limited resources more efficiently (Nolette, 2015). evidence. The scientific method, which requires
5. It sharpens critical thinking skills. Many critical thinking skills that you read about in Chapter 1,
Americans, particularly women, rely on talk shows for strengthens our ability to separate fact from fiction, but
information on a number of topics. Oprah Winfrey do people always believe scientific findings?
has featured and applauded guests who maintained,
among other things, that children contract autism from
the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccinations 2-3 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
they receive as babies; that fortune cards can help
people diagnose their illnesses; and that people can Sociologists rely on the scientific method, a body of
wish away cancer (Kosova objective and systematic techniques used to investigate
scientific method a body and Wingert, 2009; phenomena, acquire knowledge, and test hypotheses and
of objective and systematic Clemmons et al., 2015; see theories. The techniques include careful data collection,
techniques used to investige also “Clueless,” 2014, for exact measurement, accurate recording and analysis of the
phenomena, acquire knowledge,
other recent examples of findings, thoughtful interpretation of results, and, when
and test hypotheses and theories.
“celebrity bogus science”). appropriate, generalization of the findings to a larger
22 SOC
group. Before collecting any data, however, social scien-
tists must grapple with a number of research-related is-
sues. Let’s begin with concepts, variables, and hypotheses.
2-3a Concepts, Variables, and Hypotheses

A basic element of the scientific method is a concept—
an abstract idea, mental image, or general notion that
Image Source/Jupiter Images

represents some aspect of the world. Some examples of
concepts are “blood pressure,” “religion,” and “marriage.”
Because concepts are abstract, scientists use vari-
ables to measure (operationalize) concepts. A variable
is a characteristic that can change in value or magnitude
under different conditions. Variables can be attitudes,
behaviors, or traits (e.g., ethnicity, age, and social class).
between two or more variables—such as “Unemploy-
An independent variable is a characteristic that
ment increases poverty.” In this example, “unemploy-
has an effect on the dependent variable, the out-
ment” is the independent variable and “poverty” is the
come. A control variable is a characteristic that is con-
dependent variable.
stant and unchanged during the research process.
Researchers might also use control variables, like
Scientists can simply ask a research question
education, to explain the relationship between unem
(“Why are people poor?”), but they usually begin with a
ployment and poverty. For example, people with at least
hypothesis—a statement of the expected relationship
a college degree generally have lower poverty rates than
those with lower educa-
Figure 2.1 Deductive and Inductive Approaches tional levels because the concept an abstract idea,
former are less likely to mental image, or general notion
DEDUCTIVE* INDUCTIVE* that represents some aspect of the
experience long periods of
world.
General START Specific unemployment.
variable a characteristic that
can change in value or magnitude
Theory Observation
2-3b Deductive under different conditions.
and Inductive independent variable a
Reasoning characteristic that has an effect on
the dependent variable.
Deduction and induc-
Hypothesis Data collection tion are two different dependent variable the
outcome that may be affected by
but equally valuable ap- the independent variable.
proaches in examining the
relationship between vari- control variable a characteristic
Conclusion about that is constant and unchanged
Data collection patterns
ables. Generally, deduc during the research process.
or regularities tive reasoning begins
with a theory, prediction, hypothesis a statement of the
expected relationship between two
or general principle that is or more variables.
Confirmation or then tested through data
rejection of Hypothesis
collection. An alternative deductive reasoning begins
hypothesis/theory with a theory, prediction, or
mode of inquiry, inductive general principle that is then tested
reasoning, begins with through data collection.
Specific
specific observations, fol-
inductive reasoning begins
Theory lowed by data collection, a with a specific observation,
conclusion about patterns followed by data collection, a
*
End General
or regularities, and the conclusion about patterns or
regularities, and the formulation of
formulation of hypotheses
*Note that the components are very similar in both approaches. hypotheses that can lead to theory
that can lead to theory con- construction.
struction (Figure 2.1).
question or the respondent is lying. Respondents might
lie, but scientists must make sure that their measures are
as reliable as possible.
Validity is the degree to which a measure is ac-
Monica Schipper/WireImage/Getty Images

curate and really measures what it claims to measure.
Consider student course evaluations. The measures of a
“good” professor often include items like whether she or
he was “interesting,” “fair,” or “knowledgeable about the
course content.”
Because we don’t know what students mean by
“interesting” and “fair,” and students don’t know how
“knowledgeable” an instructor is, how accurate are
Are The Voice voters an example of a probability or such measures in differentiating between “good” and
nonprobability sample of the show’s fans? “bad” professors? A study at two large public universi-
ties found that a third of the students admitted being
dishonest in end-of-semester course evaluations. Some
fibbed to make their instructors look good, but most lied
to “punish” professors they didn’t like, especially when
Taking a deductive approach, you might decide to
they received lower grades than they thought they de-
test a theory of academic success using the following
served (Clayson and Haley, 2011). Such research find-
hypothesis: “Students who study in groups perform
ings raise questions about the accuracy and usefulness of
better on exams than those who study alone.” You
student course evaluations in measuring an instructor’s
would collect the data, ultimately confirming or reject-
actual performance.
ing your hypothesis (or theory).
Alternatively, you might notice that your classmates
who participate in study groups seem to get higher 2-3d Sampling
grades on exams than those who study alone. Using Early in the research process, sociologists decide what
an inductive approach, you would collect the data sys- sampling procedures to use. Ideally, researchers would
tematically and formulate like to study all the units of the population in which
reliability the consistency hypotheses (or suggest a they’re interested—say, all adolescents who use drugs.
with which the same measure theory) that could then be A population is any well-defined group of people (or
produces similar results time after tested deductively. Most things) that researchers want to know something about.
time.
social science research in- Obtaining information about and from populations is
validity the degree to which volves both inductive and problematic, however. The population may be so large
a measure is accurate and really deductive reasoning.
measures what it claims to
that it would be too expensive and time consuming to
measure. conduct the research. In other cases—such as all ado-
lescents who use drugs—it’s impossible even to identify
population any well-defined 2-3c eliability and
R
the population.
group of people (or things) Validity As a result, researchers typically select a sample, a
that researchers want to know
something about. Sociologists are always group of people (or things) that’s representative of the
sample a group of people (or concerned about reliability population they wish to study. In obtaining a sample,
things) that’s representative of and validity. Reliability is researchers decide whether to use probability or non-
the population researchers wish the consistency with which probability sampling. A probability sample is one in
to study. the same measure pro- which each person (or thing, such as an email address)
probability sample each duces similar results time has an equal chance of being selected because the se-
person (or thing) has an equal after time. If, for example, lection process is random. The most desirable charac-
chance of being selected because you ask “How old are you?” teristic of a probability sample is that the results can
the selection is random.
on two subsequent days be generalized to the larger population because all the
nonprobability and a respondent gives two people (or things) have had an equal chance of being
sample there is little or no different answers, such as selected.
attempt to get a representative
25 and 30, there’s either In a nonprobability sample, there’s little or
cross section of a population.
something wrong with the no attempt to get a representative cross section of the
24 SOC
population. Instead, researchers use sampling criteria
Figure 2.2 Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriage
such as convenience or the availability of respondents or
information. Nonprobability samples are especially use-
Has Increased
ful when sociologists are exploring a new topic or want to 65
get people’s insights on a particular topic before launch-
60
ing a larger study (Babbie, 2013).
55
Television news programs, newsmagazines, and en-
50
same-sex marriage should be legally valid

tertainment shows often provide a toll-free number, a
Percentage of Americans who said that

texting number, or a website and encourage viewers to 45
vote on an issue (such as whether marijuana should be 40
legal in all states). How representative are these voters of 35
the general population? And how many enthusiasts skew 30
the results by voting more than once? 25
But, you might think, if as many as 100,000 people
20
respond, doesn’t such a large number indicate what most
15
people think? No. Because the respondents are self-se-
10
lected and don’t comprise a random sample, they’re not
representative of a population. 5
A recent study that looked at data from almost 0

1996 2000 2005 2010 2017
209,000 people found that drinking one to five cups of Years
coffee a day was associated with lower mortality and
lower risks of death from heart and neurological diseases. Source: Based on McCarthy, 2017.
Although the sample size was huge, it was composed pri-
marily of white medical and health professionals. Thus,
the results aren’t generalizable to other populations questions about financial issues and daily parenting
(Ding et al., 2015). tasks (Bullock, 2005).
In quantitative research, sociologists focus on
2-3e The Time Dimension a numerical analysis of people’s responses or specific
Researchers compare variables in two ways: cross- characteristics, studying a wide range of attitudes, be-
sectional studies and longitudinal studies. The data can haviors, and traits (e.g., homeowners versus renters).
be longitudinal (collected at two or more points in time In one national probability study, for example, the re-
from the same or different samples of respondents) searchers surveyed almost 7,000 respondents to under-
or cross-sectional (collected at one point in time). stand the influence of grandparents who live with their
Figure 2.2 shows a change over time in Americans’ at- children and grandchildren (Dunifon and Kowaleski-
titudes toward same-sex marriage; this is an example of Jones, 2007).
a longitudinal study. If the researchers had collected Which approach should a researcher use? It de-
data at only one point in time (2017, 2000, or 1996), pends on her or his purpose. Consider college attrition.
this would have been a cross-sectional study. Cross- Quantitative data provide information on characteristics
sectional studies provide valua ble information, but such as national college graduation rates. Qualitative
longitudinal studies are especially useful in examining data, in contrast, yield in-depth descriptions of why some
trends in behavior or attitudes; a researcher can com- college students drop out whereas others graduate. In
pare similar populations across different years or follow many studies, sociologists
a particular group of people over time. use both approaches. qualitative research
examines and interprets
2-3f Qualitative and Quantitative 2-3g Correlation Is nonnumerical material.
Approaches Not Causation quantitative research focuses
on a numerical analysis of people’s
In qualitative research , sociologists examine Ideally, researchers would
responses or specific characteristics.
and interpret non numerical material. In a study like to determine causation,
of grandfathers who were raising their grandchil- a relationship in which one causation a relationship in
which one variable is the direct
dren, for example, the researcher tape-recorded in- variable is the direct con- consequence of another.
depth interviews and then analyzed the responses to sequence of another. The
the research process. Figure 2.4 outlines the scientific
Figure 2.3 An Example of Correlation method, using a deductive approach that begins with an
idea and ends with writing up (and sometimes publish-
Independent variable Dependent variable ing) the results. Later in this chapter, we’ll examine some
(Determinant) (Outcome)
studies that use an inductive approach.
Alcohol abuse Domestic violence 1. Choose a topic to study. The topic can be general
or very specific. Some sociologists begin with a new
Other variables that can affect alcohol question or idea; others extend or refine previous
abuse and domestic violence
research findings. A topic can generate new informa-
Unemployment tion, replicate a previous study, or propose an inter-
Stress
Depression
vention (e.g., a new substance abuse program).
Low income 2. Summarize the related research. In what is often
Poverty
Growing up in an abusive household called a literature review, a sociologist summarizes
Other substance abuse the pertinent research, shows how her or his topic
media recently proclaimed that, according to a World Health

Organization report, eating red meat (e.g., beef, lamb, and Figure 2.4 Steps in the Scientific Method
pork) and processed meat (e.g., bacon, hot dogs, and ham)
causes cancer. The headlines triggered considerable public
Choose a Topic
anxiety. In fact, the study concluded that “high consumption” (Often guided
of red and processed meat “may be associated with a small by theory)
risk” of several types of cancer (Bouvard et al., 2015).
Because it’s difficult to determine causation, sociolo-
gists and other scientists calculate a correlation, the re- Summarize
Related Research
lationship between two or more variables. For example,
(Literature Review)
much research shows that there’s an association between
alcohol abuse and domestic violence, and the more fre-
quent the alcohol abuse, the greater the likelihood of do- Formulate a Hypothesis
mestic violence (see Chapter 12). or Ask a Research
Alcohol abuse and domestic violence often occur to- Question
gether, but this doesn’t mean that one causes the other. Do-
mestic violence also occurs when people don’t drink, and The findings
often stimulate
not all people who abuse alcohol become violent or aggres- Describe Data
Collection Method(s) new research
sive. Instead, there may be other factors that affect alcohol ideas and theory
abuse, domestic violence, or both variables (Figure 2.3). construction
Sociologists rarely use the term cause because they can’t
prove that there’s a cause-and-effect relationship. Instead,
Collect the Data
a researcher might conclude that alcohol abuse is “associ-
ated (or correlated) with,” “contributes to,” or “increases
the likelihood of” rather than “causes” domestic violence.
2-4 BASIC STEPS IN THE Analyze the Data
RESEARCH PROCESS
Present the Results;
Hypotheses construction, deductive and inductive State Conclusions
reasoning, establishing reliability and validity, and sam-
pling are some of the
correlation the relationship
preliminary and often
between two or more variables. Using the Deductive Approach
most challenging steps in
26 SOC
is related to previous and current research,
and indicates how the study will extend the
body of knowledge. If the research is applied, a
sociologist also explains how the proposed service
or program will improve people’s lives.
3. Formulate a hypothesis or ask a research
question. A sociologist next states a hypothesis or
asks a research question. In either case, she or he
has to be sure that the measures of the variables
Farris, Joseph/Cartoonstock.com
are as reliable and valid as possible.
4. Describe the data collection method(s).
A sociologist describes which method or
combination of methods (sometimes called
methodology, procedure, or research design)
is best for testing a hypothesis or answering
a research question. This step also describes
sampling, the sample size, and the respondents’ the most accurate information, given time and budget
characteristics. constraints.
5. Collect the data. The actual data collection might
rely on fieldwork, surveys, experiments, or existing 2-5a Surveys
sources of information like Census Bureau statistics.
Many sociologists use surveys that include question-
6. Analyze the data. After coding (tabulating the naires, face-to-face or telephone interviews, or a combi-
results) and running statistical tests, a sociologist nation of these techniques. Two important elements in
presents the findings as clearly as possible. survey research are sampling and constructing a series
7. Present and explain the results. After analyzing of questions for respondents, the people who answer the
the data, a sociologist explains why the findings are questions.
important. This can be done in many ways. She or he
might show how the results provide new information, SELECTING A SAMPLE
enrich our understanding of behavior or attitudes that Random sample surveys are preferred because the re-
researchers have examined previously, or refine existing sults can be generalized to a larger population. Re-
theories or research approaches. searchers can obtain representative samples through
In drawing conclusions about the study, sociologists random digit dialing, which involves selecting area codes
typically discuss its implications. For instance, does a and exchanges (the next three numbers) followed by
study of juvenile arrests suggest that new policies should four random digits. In the procedure called computer-
be implemented, that existing ones should be changed, assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), the interviewer
or that current police practices may be affecting the ar- uses a computer to select random telephone numbers,
rest rates? That is, the researcher answers the question reads the questions to the respondent from a computer
“So what?” by showing the importance and usefulness of screen, and then enters the answers in precoded spaces,
the study. saving time and expense by not having to reenter the
data after the interview.
QUESTIONNAIRES AND INTERVIEWS

2-5 SOME MAJOR DATA A survey must have a
COLLECTION METHODS specific plan for asking survey a data collection method
questions and recording that includes questionnaires, face-
to-face or telephone interviews, or
Sociologists typically use one or more of the following answers. The most com-
a combination.
major data collection methods: surveys, field research, mon way to do this is to
content analysis, experiments, and secondary analysis of give respondents a ques questionnaire a series of
written questions that ask for
existing data. Because each method has strengths and tionnaire, a series of writ-
information.
weaknesses, researchers must decide which will provide ten questions that ask for
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)
The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.
NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

MAHUTA
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.
MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]
MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY
With no small pride first one householder and then a second

showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
“We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
BRAZIER
Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I

came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT
SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB
CUTTING THE EDGE

FINISHING THE BOTTOM
LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE

BURNING
FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE

LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE
TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL
NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI

Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK
DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG
REMOVING THE OUTER BARK

BEATING THE BARK
WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT

SOFT
MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA

To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN

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11 The Economy and

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13 Education and Religion 254

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14 Health and Medicine 282

16 Social Change: Collective

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muttered, “Her name is Stupid,” and flung the doll into

the world, we experience grief when a loved one dies,

CHAPTER 1: Thinking Like a Sociologist 3

1-1b Isn’t Sociology Just Common True or False?

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1-3b Understanding Diversity

1-3c Shaping Social and Public Policies

We develop a sociological imagination not only when we

1-3e Expanding Your Career 1-4 SOME ORIGINS OF

One of Durkheim’s central questions was how 29.7

according to Durkheim, is maintained by a

most likely to take their own lives

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capitalism is a class system in which conflict between nected” to the

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Is It Possible to Be a Value-Free Sociologist?

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College-educated white women 51 45 4

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2-1 Compare knowledge based on tradition, authority, and research.

2-6 Explain why ethics are important in scientific research.

W H AT D O YOU T H I N K ? 2-2 WHY IS SOCIOLOGICAL

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Percentage of Americans who said that

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Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

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