Unit 5 – Conflict and Cohesion

Key terms:

Conflict: a struggle between opposing or incompatible forces that causes conditions such as unrest, discontent, hostility or even violence

Cohesion: the union of individual parts into a whole….relationships that are orderly and peaceful

Ethnocentrism: the feeling that the lifestyle, values and patterns of adaptations of one’s own group are superior to those of other groups

Psychological perspective

- Conflict occurs in the individuals mind (personal/internal conflict)

- Weighing the advantages/disadvantages to various situations (their attractiveness or unattractiveness)

- Making choices

Common psychological conflicts

- Independence vs. dependence

- Intimacy vs. isolation

- Co-operation vs. competition

- Impulse expression vs. principles

Anthropological perspective

- Tries to understand how such a ‘global village’ can still have wars, fighting, poverty and other forces that drive us apart

- Deal primarily with the concept of ethnocentrism…they study the forces that produce and soften this mentally

- Consider the contradictions present within societies

Sociological perspective

- Conflict plays an important role in the way we interact with other members of society

               - There is a divide amongst the sociological world

- Functionalists: society is naturally drawn to cohesion…order and social harmony are required for a society to adapt and grow

- Conflict perspective: society is composed of groups involved in struggles to gain control over social resources…society is in a constant state of tension and change

War

Definition of war

- Organized, armed conflict among the peoples of various societies

- Because we have the technological capacity to destroy ourselves, war poses unprecedented danger to the entire planet

- Many people think of wars as an extraordinary occurrence

- Yet, for most of the 20^th century nations somewhere on earth were violent conflict

Causes of war

- Like all forms of social behaviour, warfare is a product of society that varies in purpose and intensity from culture to culture

- If society holds the key to war and peace, under the circumstances Do humans go to battle

- Quincy Wright – five factors

1. Perceived threats: mobilization in response to a perceived threat to people, territory or culture

2. Social problems: internal problems create frustrations and prompt leaders to divert attention by attacking an external ‘enemy’

3. Political objections: war is a political strategy

4. Moral objectives: rallying people around nations of ‘freedom’ or the ‘fatherland’ fighting for more than wealth or power – for moral urgency

5. The absence of alternatives: self interested societies with no other choice

Social stratification

Definition

- Social stratification: a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

- Social systems evaluate entire categories of people above others, providing one segment of the population with more money, power and schooling than others

Social stratification….Four basic principles

1. Is a characteristic of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences

2. Persists over generation

3. Is universal but variable

4. Involves not just inequality but beliefs

The functions of social stratification

- The Davis-Moore thesis

~ The claim that social stratification has been beneficial consequences for the operation of a society

~ The greater the functional importance of a position, the more rewards a society offers

~ According to their theory, social stratification amount to a more productive society

~ Equality would mean that people who carry out a job poorly would be equally rewarded

~ Their logic…higher rewards = higher incentives = higher motivation = higher efficiency and productivity

- Karl Marx: Society and conflict

~ Astounded that the concentration of industry’s riches was owned by only a few people

~ He hoped to develop a new social order

~ The key to his thinking was social conflict (struggle between segments of society over valued resources)

~ He claimed that industrial capitalism was responsible for the social divides that plagued western society

~ He saw capitalism as the cause of oppression

Social stratification in Canada

- Canadian society is highly stratified

- Our egalitarian values suggest that we provide a broad range of opportunities to all members of society, but in reality the advantages available to us depend greatly on our social status

Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping

Definitions

Prejudice: an opinion or judgment based on irrelevant considerations or inadequate knowledge, either favourable or unfavourable 

Blatant prejudice: obvious, unashamed prejudice against someone different from oneself

Subtle prejudice: harder to detect but still felt by the victim 

- Effects of prejudice are many.  Most importantly segregation and discrimination

Segregate: separate one racial group from another or from the rest of society

Discrimination: an action or behaviour that stems from prejudice

Stereotype: judgments based on the basis of exaggerated or distorted characteristics about groups of people applied to an individual association with that group

Racism: prejudice or discrimination against a person or group because of a difference of race or cultural or ethnic background

Causes of prejudice

- Socialization – oftentimes what we think is taught to us by the people we love most or who had the most influence on our lives

- While humans have a natural tendency to form groups, IN AND OUT Groups cause natural separation within society and discrimination between them. (Janet Ruscher)

Stages of prejudice

Ÿ         Verbal rejection

- Verbalization of personal prejudices and the exchange of ‘jokes’

Ÿ         Avoidance

- Individual contacts shunned from the group

Ÿ         Discrimination

- Exclusion of individuals from different aspects of society (work, social life, communities)

Ÿ         Semi-violence or violence

- Vandalizing, intimidation, attacks by groups of the prejudiced

Ÿ         Extermination

- Government allows murder

- Genocides launched against the minority

 

 

Deviance and Crime

What is deviance?

·         Deviance is.....

The recognized violation of cultural norms

·         The most understood form of deviance is crime

The violation of norms a society formally enacts into criminal laws

·         Deviance is a method of social control and is focused on the concepts of conformity and non conformity

·         Non conformity leads to deviance this, creating conflict within society

Causes of Social Deviance

·         Some believe deviance is something we learn from other people or groups.

·         Many sociologists, such as Edwin Sutherland, have found that we are more attracted to deviant groups and social circles [particularly as young adults/ teenagers]

·         Social deviance is then said to be a learned behaviour [ nurture rather than nature]

Sociological Explanations of Deviance

·         Structural functional: the social response that is provoked by deviance sustains the moral foundation of society

·         Symbolic interaction: deviance is defined only by the response of others [labelling]

·         Social conflict: Laws and other norms reflect the interest of powerful members of society [ treat to the status quo= deviance]

Merton’s Strain Theory

·         Robert Merton (sociologist)– some deviance is necessary for society to function

·         The attempt to achieve culturally approved goals (wealth) can be obtained through a variety of means

·         Unconventional attempts (drug dealing) are a result of our social situation

·         Merton calls this ‘Deviance Innovativeness’

Marx-White Collar Crime

·         White collar crime: offences involving financial fraud that tend to be committed by professionals and business people

·         Also known as corporate crime

·         The motive is not always need; but greed..... embezelment.