The Theories Of Society And All Social Behavior

Throughout Peter Kivisto’s book Social Theory: Roots & Branches, he talks about the numerous different perspectives which essentially help distinguish our overall understanding of the contemporary

Sociologists develop theories to explain and analyze society at different levels and from different perspectives. Sociologists study everything from the micro level of analysis of small social patterns to the “big picture” which is the macro level of analysis of large social patterns.

In middle adulthood there are many changes that occur physically, psychologically, and socially as explained in the above passages. Yet, some say that this is the best time of their life, they experience enhanced self-confidence, great sex lives, career success, and enhanced brain functions. Middle age adults are better equipped to make better life choices and decisions and not worry so much about the negative parts of life. Their problem solving skills are greater which allows them to reason more creatively. They are able to enjoy sex freely without the worries of getting pregnant and they feel more confident with their partners. In general they are happier about life and look forward to enjoying the rest of their lives.

The history of how society came about is very old but short, only emerging during the 19th century. Therefore, it is one of the youngest as well as one of the oldest of the social sciences. According to the American Sociological Association sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. In comparison to other majors, sociology has a broad scope with relevance to research, theory, and application of knowledge. Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating new ideas and critiquing the old. Because sociology addresses the most

“Though the age boundaries are not set in stone, we will consider middle adulthood as the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age” (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). I interviewed two individuals for this paper. Each person was asked the same fifteen questions (Appendix). I interviewed a male and a female who fell in the midrange of middle adulthood.

This paper will attempt to analyze sociological factors, which explain societies propensity to treat women differently than men when they are accused of committing a violent crime, such as murder. Because we live in a male-dominated society it is believed that men commit most violent crimes. Some studies indicate that when a violent crime is committed by a man society has a more acceptable view of the offense. Because of gender stereotypes, women are judged more harshly by society than a man. Women are expected to follow normal behavior as ascribed by their societies current definitions of normal. Society views women as nurturers who are subservient to their husbands and devoted to their children (2008). The Andrea Yates case was chosen as the focus of this paper because it perfectly illustrates the impact of external and internal forces, which can drive a woman to commit a violent crime and societies reaction to those crimes.

It is difficult to say when the idea of social theory came around because it is difficult to document such an event; it is not as simple as other firsts in the world. The earliest, one can say, is around the time of the Western philosophy came around with Plato and Herodotus among others and maybe even Confucius. The ideal behind social theory is that it is the framework used to study and interpret social phenomena throughout the world. However, there is a lot more to social theory, it also tries to relate to historical debates over generally accepted methodologies, and often they critique the ideological teachings and tradition beliefs. Social theories can also encompass political science, sociology, and even economics, and does not

Middle adulthood begins at the age of 40 - 60. This is a time when you can’t believe where the time went. It seems like just yesterday you were graduating from college, got married, and had children. Your children are now approaching young adulthood, pushing you into the next stage of life, middle adulthood. You look in the mirror and all the signs of middle age are starting to set in. You notice wrinkles, gray hair, flabby skin and you’re having trouble reading the menu. You begin to reassess you life. Are you happy with what you have accomplished in life so far? Do you have good family

A sociological perspective on human behavior is connected to the society as a whole. It invites us to look for the connections between the behavior of individuals and the structures of the society in which they live. (Appendix 1)

Middle-aged adults experience change in many different areas of their life at this time, they will find that not only their health is changing, but their appearance, their family, their thinking, and their emotions are changes as well. When discussing people that fall into the middle adulthood age of life, the term “midlife crisis” is often used, but according to an article titled Middle Adulthood Developmental Psychology, “most people during middle adulthood are satisfied and pleased with their lives”, ("Physical Changes," 2008-2013, expression 1). This article also states that the age range for middle adulthood is approximately age thirty-five to sixty-four. Midlife crisis is a when an individual views themselves and are unhappy with

From adolescence to late adulthood, our lives change drastically. Our goals, achievements and conceptions of life differentiate as we mature. As we grow older, we no longer concern ourselves with self-identity or the opinions of others, but instead we focus on our accomplishments and evaluate our life (if we lived a meaningful life). From adolescence to late adulthood, we experience different developmental tasks at a particular place in our life span.

Society, without even saying a word, has given us rules and guidelines that we have to abide. Social norms are rules or guidelines regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable or appropriate within a culture. They are so embedded within our daily life that often we do not notice them. Because norms are so ingrained within our society, deviation of social norms can lead to be ostracized or even arrested depending on the situation. Violating norms, like promoting hate message about poor people, in society can be explained through the functionalism theory.

Robert Park first coined the term collective behavior in the early 1900s. In class, it was taught that his definition included social unrest, crowds, sects, publics, mass movements, crowd mind, propaganda, and fashion as forms of collective behavior. Collective behavior has shaped our everyday lives in more ways than most of us care to think about. Collective behavior is defined as any event in which a group of people engages in unusual behavior. Unusual may have a negative connotation for some, but from a sociological standpoint, as discussed in class, it simply means against the norm. Even more explanatory than that; behavior that falls outside of the normative expectations for a situation and/or participants. In a normal setting,

Group behaviour, also known as gregarious behaviour, occurs in a wide variety of animals including, but not limited to, invertebrates (Ritz, 1994), fish (Shaw, 1970), birds (Lack, 1968), wildebeests (Gueron and Levin, 1993), lions (Bertram, 1975), and primates (Nakagawa, 1990). Benefits of group living include improved reproductive success, increased foraging success, and improved predation survival (Hamilton, 1971; Reluga and Viscido, 2005). Social behaviours evolve when the benefits of group living outweigh the costs (Fleagle, 2013). Predation risk is lowered in social groups by confusing the predator so the predator’s success decreases (Hall et al., 1986; Smith and Warburton, 1992), by providing improved vigilance – more

The Mudsill theory is a theory on the development of societies, this theory is the belief that there must be a lower class for the upper classes to rest on top of, like a mudsill there must be a support on the bottom of a building to sustain the top. This argument was very strong in the southern community because it was the most reasonable statement that included all the society as a whole. There are various motives ranging from social, political, and economic beliefs that all build a society, where in the minds of white Americans in southern states, the institution of slavery was just another reality that seemed essential, traditional, and even a systematic justification. Those who were willing to set a challenge set forth by the abolitionists, defended slavery with pro-slavery arguments. The defenders of slavery included history, economics, religion, legitimacy, social good and even important principles, to further their arguments. These arguments went against the North but weren’t as successful as anticipated.