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Macrosociology: Understanding Larger Groups and Societies

This chapter explores the study of larger groups and societies, including population descriptions, survey research, contextual effects, network analysis, the sociology of societies, theories about social systems, and comparative research on violence and modernity.

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Macrosociology: Understanding Larger Groups and Societies

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  1. Chapter 4 Macrosociology: Studying Larger Groups and Societies

  2. Chapter Outline • Describing Populations • Survey Research: Ideology and Conformity • Contextual Effects • Network Analysis: Group Properties • The Sociology of Societies • Societies as Systems • Theories about Social Systems • Comparative Research: Violence and Modernity

  3. Simple and Proportional Facts • Simple fact • Some homes in Los Angeles were burglarized last year. • Proportional fact • How many burglaries occurred in Los Angeles last year and what proportion of all homes were burglarized?

  4. Survey Research • Based on a sample of the population to be studied. • Data are collected by personal interviews or by having each individual complete a questionnaire.

  5. Contextual Effect • Exists when a relationship found among individuals is conditional upon social contexts. • Different results occur in different social surroundings. • Contextual effects mark the borderline between micro- and macrosociology.

  6. Network Analysis • Research method that test hypotheses about properties of social networks. • Involves constructing measures of network variables and using networks as the units of analysis.

  7. Societies As Systems Systems have three important features: • A set of components that are • interdependent and • maintain some degree of stability or equilibrium.

  8. Five Basic Social Institutions • The family • The economy • Religion • The political order • Education

  9. Functionalist Theory of Social Systems Three components: • The part of the system to be explained. • Learning how this part of the system preserves another part of the system from disruption. • The theory identifies the source of the potential disruption.

  10. Social Evolutionary Theories • Societies with characteristics that help them adapt to their environments have a better chance for survival. • Through the process of selection, certain highly adaptive structures and cultural traits tend to exist in societies.

  11. Conflict Theory • Conflicts that occur within a society engender its cultural patterns and social structures • Concerned with how power is distributed and how classes gain power and use power to reshape society in their favor. • Conflicts among classes supply the energy for constructing and maintaining patterns of culture and social structures.

  12. Paige’s Theory of Factionalism in Primitive Societies • Factions in primitive societies will form along divisions based on kinship. • Factions in primitive societies will form along divisions based on residence. • In primitive societies violence primarily occurs between male factions. • Primitive societies will lack factions and have little violence when kinsmen do not share common residence.

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