SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Social Change, Informal Social Control, Homeostasis
21 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Based on two emphases: application of scientific method to objective social world, analogy between individual organism and society. Organismic analogy: leads to speculation about . What needs must be met for a social system to exist. Example: every society will have some form of religion because religion serves some vital functions for the maintenance of society, just as various organs/systems in the body serve necessary functions for the survival of the organism. Every organism/society works to maintain some kind of equilibrium (homeostasis) and restore it whenever some external forces disrupts the balance between one or more institutions. Subsystems within society are interdependent; changes in one often cause changes in others. Conformity is achieved through the mechanisms of socialization and social control. Socialization=the process by which individuals learn and internalize the values and norms of the larger society. Social control=mechanisms used to reward people for conformity and punish them for deviance. Formal and informal social control: assumptions about the social actor:
