SOCIOL 3HH3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7-8: Instrumental And Value-Rational Action, Social Integration, Socioeconomic Status
29 Jun 2018
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MAY 31 READINGS
Textbook pg. 171-229 – chapter 7: Alienation
-Seeman’s classic definition of alienation – Five major types of alienation
oPowerlessness
oSelf-estrangement
oIsolation
oMeaninglessness
oNormlessness
-Five Issues in alienation
oControl
oCommitment
oSupport
oMeaning
oNormality
Control
-Sense of powerlessness (top of Seeman’s list): the expectancy or probability,
held by the individual, that his own behaviour cannot determine the occurrence
of the outcomes, or reinforcements, he seeks
-Alienation – any form of detachment or separation from oneself or from others
-Powerlessness – separation from important outcomes in one’s own life or
inability to achieve desired ends
The Faces and Names of Powerlessness and control
-Different names – perceived powerlessness and control, notably mastery,
personal autonomy, sense of personal efficacy, and instrumentalism, fatalism,
perceived helplessness
-Locus of Control
oIndividual believes that he or she is powerless and at mercy of
environment
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oBelief in external locus of control is learned; as is internal locus of control
(the opposite)
Internal locus – generalized expectation that outcomes are
contingent on one’s own choices and actions
-Self-efficacy
oOverlaps with perceived control
oSelf-efficacy – the belief in one’s own power or ability to produce a
specific desired effect
oAccording to Bandura, it focuses upon the individual’s belief that he or
she can (or cannot) effectively perform a specific action
oSense of control focuses on belief that one will achieve desired goals
oCan be positive – e.g. – studying harder
-Learned Helplessness
oFrom animal studies of reinforcement and learned behaviour
oResults from exposure to inescapable, uncontrollable negative stimuli
oCharacterized by low rate of voluntary response and low ability to learn
successful behaviours
oRefers to behaviour, not to any cognitive attribution
-Personal Control
oA learned, generalized expectation that outcomes are contingent on
one’s own choices and actions
oHigh sense of control – effective agents in their own lives; believe they
can master, control and effectively alter the environment
oPerceived powerlessness – belief that one’s actions do not affect
outcomes – situations are determined by forces such as powerful others,
luck, fate, or chance
Measuring Perceived Control
-Questions such as “when I make plans I can make them work”, or “I have little
influence over the things that happen to me”
-Personal rather than universal, global rather than specific
oPerceptions about amount of control others have over their lives can
influence mental health, but they are distinct from sense of personal
control
oIdeological or universal control refers to the degree one feels that others’
successes or failures are their own doing
oPersonal control refers to one’s own life outcomes
oAlso about global judgment about overall self-direction and master y of
one’s own life
oRelates to mental health only indirectly (tendency to correlate with the
general sense of control over one’s life)
-Averaging Out Cross-Cutting Factors: The 2 x 2 Structure
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oCross-cutting concepts: the tendency to agree, and the tendency toward
self-defense or self-blame
oSome people agree, others inclined to disagree with most
oSome people are more likely to take responsibility for good than bad
ones, self-defense
o2x2 design – balances statements about control with those about lack of
control, and those about success with those about failures
Agreement tendency – tendency to agree or disagree with all
statements
Older Americans with lower levels of education tend to
agree with statements whereas younger or better-
educated ones tend to disagree, other things being equal
Self-defense and self-blame – tendency to claim responsibility for
the good outcomes in one’s life but deny responsibility for the
bad ones
Self-blame, is the tendency to claim responsibility for the
bad outcomes but not the good ones
Some focus on self-blame as a cause of depression –
closely related to sense of guilt or inadequacy
Some think that self-defense protects against depression,
by protecting the ego
Belief Shaped by Experience
-Sociologists too often discount the ways in which perceptions mediate or even
change the effects of social position on well-being
-Perceptions, Not just Conditions
oSociologists imply that social structure has consequences for individual
behaviour or well-being regardless of individual beliefs or perceptions
-Shaped by Reality, Not Just Imagined
oSome psychologists discount the effects of social position, instead
claiming that perceptions of controls are as likely to be illusory as to be
based on reality
Objective Power and Perceived Control
-Belief in external control is the learned and generalized expectation that one has
little control over meaningful events and circumstances in one’s life
-Theoretical Conditions Undermining the Sense of Control
oObjective powerlessness – objective condition – inability to achieve one’s
ends or the inability to achieve one’s ends when in opposition to others
oStructural Inconsistency – a situation in which society defines certain
goals, purposes and interests as legitimate and desirable and also defines
the proper procedures for moving toward the objectives, but does not
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Document Summary
Seeman"s classic definition of alienation five major types of alienation: powerlessness, self-estrangement, isolation, meaninglessness, normlessness. Five issues in alienation: control, commitment, support, meaning, normality. Sense of powerlessness (top of seeman"s list): the expectancy or probability, held by the individual, that his own behaviour cannot determine the occurrence of the outcomes, or reinforcements, he seeks. Alienation any form of detachment or separation from oneself or from others. Powerlessness separation from important outcomes in one"s own life or inability to achieve desired ends. The faces and names of powerlessness and control. Different names perceived powerlessness and control, notably mastery, personal autonomy, sense of personal efficacy, and instrumentalism, fatalism, perceived helplessness. Locus of control: individual believes that he or she is powerless and at mercy of environment, belief in external locus of control is learned; as is internal locus of control (the opposite) Internal locus generalized expectation that outcomes are contingent on one"s own choices and actions.
