SOC 120 Ethics & Social Responsibility Week 1 Guidance

SOC 120 Ethics & Social Responsibility Week 1 Guidance

Sociology is the study of the relationship between individuals and their social contexts (Mills, 1959). Like other social scientists, sociologists are interested in understanding human behavior, and Sociology is focused on the social causes of human behavior. Humans are by nature social beings; we cannot survive unless we interact with other humans. But our interactions are not random, they are shaped by our social context, which consists of our relationships with others, our cultural values and beliefs, the rules of institutions (e.g., family, religion, government, economy) we participate in, our position in social hierarchies, and our experiences in previous interactions, among other things. All of these exert influence over our decisions and actions, by shaping how we perceive and interpret the actions of others around us.

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Our relationships, social groups, organizations, social class, institutions, and culture―which taken together form the structure of our society―are created as we interact with others. Our experiences within our social structures always guide us as we interact with others, and by “acting normally” within the parameters of our social context, we reinforce all of the structures that constitute the context. Thus, our interactions are both shaping our social context, and also shaping us at the same time. Our social context and structures influence our own personalities, identities and worldviews. And these guide us in making decisions and in acting.
People experience interaction within these social structures over the course of a lifetime, beginning with interaction in the family, then among their neighbors, then with their teachers and classmates at school, perhaps in their church, later in the workplace, and so on. So, most of us do not think of ourselves as constructing the institutions―they are already in place when we are born and we live our lives within their rules. But, in fact, every time we adhere to time-honored means of interaction, we are essentially recreating that rule, and thus recreating the institution.
Sociologists apply this logic of construction and socialization (the effects that participating in social structures has on individuals) to better understand human behavior, human interaction, and social structures. Sociologists are particularly interested in how our interaction creates institutions that are unequal in nature―they are organized in hierarchies, with some individuals getting more and others getting less of whatever is valued in the society (money, prestige, material goods, or power, for example). Some inequality is functional―societies work better if some leaders make decisions, so everyone does not have to do so. When inequality becomes too extreme, or when it begins to serve the interests of particular individuals or groups rather than the society as a whole, then inequality erodes social functioning and individuals suffer.
For more information on the discipline of Sociology,
have a look at one of the following resources…