SIXTH EDITION Essentials of Sociology Recent Sociology Titles from W. W. Norton Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson In the Trenches: Teaching and Learning Sociology by Maxine P. Atkinson and Kathleen S. Lowney Social Problems, Third Edition by Joel Best You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking like a Sociologist, Fifth Edition by Dalton Conley The Family: Diversity, Inequality, and Social Change by Philip N. Cohen Race in America by Matthew Desmond and Mustafa Emirbayer Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions by Myra Marx Ferree and Lisa Wade The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, Fifth Edition by Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein Mix It Up: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Society, Second Edition by David Grazian The Contexts Reader, Second Edition edited by Douglas Hartmann and Christopher Uggen Readings for Sociology, Eighth Edition edited by Garth Massey Families as They Really Are, Second Edition edited by Barbara J. Risman and Virginia E. Rutter The Social Construction of Sexuality, Third Edition by Steven Seidman Sex Matters: The Sexuality and Society Reader, Fourth Edition edited by Mindy Stombler, Dawn M. Baunach, Wendy O. Simonds, Elroi J. Windsor, and Elisabeth O. Burgess Cultural Sociology: An Introductory Reader edited by Matt Wray American Society: How It Really Works, Second Edition by Erik Olin Wright and Joel Rogers To learn more about Norton Sociology, please visit wwnorton.com/soc SIXTH EDITION Essentials of Sociology Anthony Giddens London School of Economics Mitchell Duneier City University of New York Graduate Center Princeton University Richard P. Appelbaum University of California, Santa Barbara Deborah Carr Rutgers University W. W. NORTON & COMPANY, INC. New York • London W. W. NORTON & COMPANY has been independent since its founding in 1923, when Wiliam Warder Norton and Mary D. Herter Norton first published lectures delivered at the People’s Institute, the adult education division of New York City’s Cooper Union. The firm soon expanded its program beyond the Institute, publishing books by celebrated academics from America and abroad. By midcentury, the two major pillars of Norton’s publishing program—trade books and college texts—were firmly established. In the 1950s, the Norton family transferred control of the company to its employees, and today—with a staff of four hundred and a comparable number of trade, college, and professional titles published each year—W. W. Norton & Company stands as the largest and oldest publishing house owned wholly by its employees. Editor: Sasha Levitt Project Editor: David Bradley Managing Editor, College: Marian Johnson Managing Editor, College Digital Media: Kim Yi Production Manager: Sean Mintus Media Editor: Eileen Connell Associate Media Editor: Mary Williams Assistant Editor: Miranda Schonbrun Marketing Manager: Julia Hall Design Director: Hope Miller Goodell Photo Editor: Cat Abelman Permissions Manager: Megan Schindel Information Graphics Design: Kiss Me I’m Polish LLC, New York Composition: Graphic World Manufacturing: Transcontinental Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013, 2011, 2008 by Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum, and Deborah Carr Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, and Richard P. Appelbaum All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-0-393-60278-4 (pbk.) W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 wwnorton.com W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., 15 Carlisle Street, London W1D 3BS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Contents PREFACE xix Chapter 1: Sociology: Theory and Method 2 WHAT IS THE “SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION”? 5 Studying Sociology 7 Developing a Global Perspective 7 Understanding Social Change 8 Globalization by the Numbers: Opinion of the United States 9 WHAT THEORIES DO SOCIOLOGISTS USE? 10 Early Theorists 10 Neglected Founders 14 Modern Theoretical Approaches 16 Digital Life: Bullying Goes Viral 19 Theoretical Thinking in Sociology 20 Levels of Analysis: Microsociology and Macrosociology 21 WHAT KINDS OF QUESTIONS CAN 22 SOCIOLOGISTS ANSWER? WHAT ARE THE STEPS OF THE 23 RESEARCH PROCESS? 1. Define the Research Problem 24 2. Review the Evidence 24 3. Make the Problem Precise 24 4. Work Out a Design 25 Contents v 5. Carry Out the Research 25 6. Interpret the Results 25 7. Report the Findings 26 WHAT RESEARCH METHODS DO SOCIOLOGISTS USE? 26 Ethnography 26 Surveys 27 Experiments 30 Comparative and Historical Research 30 WHAT ETHICAL DILEMMAS DO SOCIOLOGISTS FACE? 32 HOW DOES THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION 37 AFFECT YOUR LIFE? The Big Picture 38 Chapter 2: Culture and Society 40 WHAT IS CULTURE? 43 Defining “Culture” 43 Culture and Society 46 HOW DOES HUMAN CULTURE DEVELOP? 47 Early Human Culture: Adaptation to Physical Environment 47 Nature or Nurture? 48 How Nature and Nurture Interact 49 Cultural Diversity 51 Cultural Universals 54 Culture and Social Development 56 Digital Life: The Secret Power of Cultural Norms and Values 57 WHAT HAPPENED TO PREMODERN SOCIETIES? 58 The Earliest Societies: Hunters and Gatherers 58 Pastoral and Agrarian Societies 59 Traditional Societies or Civilizations 60 HOW HAS INDUSTRIALIZATION SHAPED 61 MODERN SOCIETY? The Industrialized Societies 61 Global Development 62 HOW DOES GLOBALIZATION AFFECT 64 CONTEMPORARY CULTURE? Does the Internet Promote a Global Culture? 65 vi Contents Globalization by the Numbers: Internet Connectivity 67 Globalization and Local Cultures 68 The Big Picture 70 Chapter 3: Socialization, the 72 Life Course, and Aging HOW ARE CHILDREN SOCIALIZED? 75 Theories of Child Development 76 Agents of Socialization 77 Social Roles 81 Identity 81 Gender Socialization 82 WHAT ARE THE FIVE MAJOR STAGES 86 OF THE LIFE COURSE? Childhood 86 The Teenager 86 Young Adulthood 86 Midlife or “Middle Age” 87 Later Life or “Old Age” 88 Globalization by the Numbers: Life Course Transitions 89 HOW DO PEOPLE AGE? 90 The Meanings of “Age” 90 Growing Old: Trends and Competing Sociological Explanations 91 Digital Life: Apps for Successful Aging 93 WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF AGING 94 IN THE UNITED STATES? Health Problems 95 Elder Abuse 97 Social Isolation 98 Prejudice 99 The Big Picture 100 Chapter 4: Social Interaction 102 and Everyday Life in the Age of the Internet WHAT IS SOCIAL INTERACTION? 104 Nonverbal Communication 106 Contents vii HOW DO WE MANAGE IMPRESSIONS IN DAILY LIFE? 109 Impression Management 109 Focused and Unfocused Interaction 109 Audience Segregation 111 WHAT RULES GUIDE HOW WE COMMUNICATE 112 WITH OTHERS? Ethnomethodology 112 Digital Life: Turning Away from Face-to-Face Interaction 113 Interactional Vandalism 114 Response Cries 116 Personal Space 116 Eye Contact 117 HOW DO TIME AND SPACE AFFECT OUR INTERACTIONS? 117 Clock Time 118 Globalization by the Numbers: Who Owns a Smartphone? 119 The Compulsion of Proximity 120 HOW DO THE RULES OF SOCIAL INTERACTION 122 AFFECT YOUR LIFE? Women and Men in Public 122 Race and the Public Sphere 123 The Big Picture 126 Chapter 5: Groups, Networks, 128 and Organizations WHAT ARE SOCIAL GROUPS? 130 Groups: Variety and Characteristics 131 The Effects of Size 132 Types of Leadership 134 Conformity 134 HOW DO WE BENEFIT FROM SOCIAL NETWORKS? 137 The Internet as Social Network 138 Digital Life: Crowdfunding and the Strength of Weak Ties 139 HOW DO ORGANIZATIONS FUNCTION? 140 Theories of Organizations 141 IS BUREAUCRACY AN OUTDATED MODEL? 145 The Transformation of Management 145 viii Contents Technology and Modern Organizations 146 The “McDonaldization” of Society 148 HOW DO GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS AFFECT 149 YOUR LIFE? Social Capital: The Ties That Bind 149 Globalization by the Numbers: Nonprofit & Volunteer Sector 151 Conclusion 152 The Big Picture 154 Chapter 6: Conformity, Deviance, 156 and Crime WHAT IS DEVIANT BEHAVIOR? 159 What Is Deviance? 159 Norms and Sanctions 161 WHY DO PEOPLE COMMIT DEVIANT ACTS? 161 The Biological View of Deviance 161 The Psychological View of Deviance 162 Sociological Perspectives on Deviance 163 Theoretical Conclusions 169 HOW DO WE DOCUMENT CRIME? 169 WHOSE LIVES ARE AFFECTED BY CRIME? 172 Gender and Crime 172 Youth and Crime 173 Crimes of the Powerful 175 Organized Crime 177 HOW CAN CRIME BE REDUCED? 177 Are Prisons the Answer? 177 Globalization by the Numbers: Incarceration Rates 179 The Mark of a Criminal Record 180 The Death Penalty 180 Policing 181 Crime and Community 183 Digital Life: Using Cameras to Police the Police 185 HOW DO CRIME AND DEVIANCE AFFECT YOUR LIFE? 186 The Costs of Crime 186 The Functions of Deviance 187 The Big Picture 188 Contents ix