- •Sociology What is Sociology?
- •A Sociological Consciousness
- •The Sociological Challenge
- •Social Structure
- •The Nature of Social Structure
- •The Nature of Roles
- •Role Set
- •Role Strain
- •Role Taking and Role Making
- •Embracing the Role
- •Statuses
- •The Nature of Statuses
- •Ascribed and Achieved Statuses
- •Master Statuses
- •Groups: The Sociological Subject
- •Primary and Secondary Groups
- •Social Structure and Change
- •Socialization
- •Human Development: Nature and Nurture
- •Spheres of socialization
- •The Family
- •Schooling
- •Peer Groups
- •The Mass Media
- •Public Opinion
- •Political behavior
- •Political Beliefs
- •Belief Systems
- •Political Culture
- •Political Actions
- •Individual political actions Modes of Political Activity
- •Group political actions
- •The people and democracy
- •The American “Voter”
- •Concepts and theories of stratification
- •Chapter Preview
- •Conceptions of social class
- •Marx's concept of class
- •The Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat
- •Class Consciousness and Conflict
- •The Economic Dimension of Class
- •Weber's three dimensions of stratification
- •Property
- •Prestige
- •The functionalist theory of stratification
- •Replaceability
- •Social classes in the united states
- •The Upper Class
- •Social Mobility: Myth and Reality
- •Stratification and Mobility in Recent Decades
- •Age, gender, household composition, and poverty?
- •Race, ethnicity, and poverty
- •Family structure and characteristics
- •Marriage patterns
- •Power and authority in families
- •Perspectives on families
- •Functionalist perspectives
- •New Patterns and Pressure Points
- •Employed Mothers
- •Stepfamilies
- •Is the Family Endangered or Merely Changing?
- •Religion
- •Elements of religion
- •Types of religious organizations
- •The Functions of Religion
- •Religion in the United States
- •Religion in the united states Religious Affiliation
- •Religiosity
- •Correlates of Religious Affiliation
The Mass Media
The mass media are channels of communication directed to vast audiences within a society. Common to industrial societies, the mass media include television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. All of these constantly present us with information of all kinds and, as a result, have an enormous effect on our attitudes and behavior. The mass media often claim to present world events in a factual manner. However, a number of sociologists have argued that they tend to present the interests of established elites in a favorable light, while portraying those who challenge the system in negative terms (Gans, 1980; Parenti, 1986).
Like he other mass media, television is not interactive, meaning that although it has an effect on us, we are not able to immediately respond to those who direct its content. Television is therefore far more than a source of entertainment; it is also a means of programming our attitudes and beliefs. For example, television has traditionally portrayed men and women according to cultural stereotypes, showing, for example, males in positions of power and women only as mothers or subordinates (Cantor & Pingree, 1983; Ang, 1985).
Advertising in the mass media has also traditionally presented males and females in stereotypical ways (Courtney & Whipple, 1983). Similarly, television shows have long portrayed relatively affluent families in favorable terms, while suggesting that less affluent people (such as Archie Bunker in All in the Family) are ignorant and wrongheaded (Gans, 1980).
There is a lively continuing debate among sociologists and psychologists regarding the overall impact of television on human behavior. Of particular concern is the steadily increasing level of television violence. There is now considerable research evidence suggesting that violence in programming fosters violent behavior among viewers (Goldsen, 1978; National Institute of Mental Health, 1982).
Television has unquestionably enriched American culture in many respects, bringing into our homes a wide range of entertainment and educational programming. Furthermore, it is a “window on the world” that has increased our awareness of diverse cultures and provided a means of addressing current public issues. At the same time, television remains the subject of controversy insofar as it distorts our social relations by supporting traditional stereotypes and promoting violence.
Finally, the advertising on which the mass media depend for revenues attempts to manipulate our attitudes and behavior.
Public Opinion
Public opinion is defined as the attitudes of people throughout a society about one оr more controversial issues. Although, primary groups have the greatest importance in the process of socialization, our attitudes and behavior are also influenced by what we perceive to be the opinions of other members of our society. As will be seen in the discussion of Solomon Asch's (1952) research in Chapter 6, people often conform to the attitudes of others – even strangers – to avoid being singled out as different.
Because public opinion tends to reflect the dominant values and norms of a society, those who do differ in some way from the majority may be defined in negative terms. Widespread American opinion suggests that if we are homosexual, we are “sick,” that males who are noncompetitive “lack character,” and that females who are assertive are “pushy.” Thus people who fail to conform to cultural patterns may develop a sense of being social outsiders. As we shall explain in Chapter 8, public opinion may judge nonconformity such a serious matter that nonconforming individuals may be viewed by society, and by themselves, as deviants. No one, of course, ever conforms completely to the dominant values and norms. Ironically, many people who publicly display conformity to cultural patterns experience private anxiety about their failure to live up to ideal cultural expectations.
Within complex, industrial societies, socialization takes place in a wide range of settings. In addition to those we have described, there are religious organizations, the workplace, and social clubs. More generally, since socialization is based on all social experience, this process actually occurs everywhere. For this reason, socialization inevitably involves inconsistencies; even within the family, we may learn different information from various family members. Thus socialization is not a simple process of learning, but a complex balancing act in which individuals encounter a wide range of ideas in the process of forming their own distinctive personality.