Complete the assignment using Chapter 4
** Key Terms = sociological words or terms from your reading. An example of a key term is “social stratification”.
Chapter 4—Society and Social Interactions.
Q1. Using a Minimum of 5 key terms
In which type or types of societies do the benefits seem to outweigh the costs? Explain your answer, and cite social and economic reasons (1 page)
Q.2 Using a Minimum of 5 key terms that must be different from the ones used in question 1
From your reading of Social Construction of Reality, think of a self-fulfilling prophecy that you’ve experienced. Based on this experience, do you agree with the Thomas theorem? Use examples from current events to support your answer as well (1 page)
The Real World
SIXTH EDITION
n
W. W. NORTON
NEW YORK • LONDON
The Real World
An Introduction to Sociology
SIXTH EDITION
Kerry Ferris | Jill Stein
W. W. Norton & Company has been independent since its founding in 1923, when William Warder Norton and
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Copyright © 2018, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2008 by Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein
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v
KERRY FERRIS is Associate Professor of Sociology at Northern Illinois University.
She uses ethnographic methods and a symbolic interactionist approach to study
celebrity as a system of social power. Her past studies have included analyses of
fan- celebrity relations, celebrity sightings, celebrity stalking, red- carpet celebrity
interviews, and the work lives of professional celebrity impersonators. Her current
project examines small- market television newscasters in the American Midwest
and their experiences of celebrity on a local level. Her work has been published in
Symbolic Interaction, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, The Journal of Popular
Culture, and Text & Performance Quarterly. She is the coauthor, with Scott R. Harris,
of Stargazing: Celebrity, Fame, and Social Interaction.
JILL STEIN is Professor of Sociology at Santa Barbara City College, which was recently
named the top community college in the United States by the Aspen Institute. She
teaches introduction to sociology in both face- to- face and online formats every
semester. In addition, she is involved in many student- success initiatives at the local
and state levels. Her research examines narrative processes in twelve- step programs,
the role of popular culture in higher learning, and group culture among professional
rock musicians. Her work has been published in Symbolic Interaction, Youth & Society,
and TR AILS (Teaching Resources and Innovations Library).
About the
Authors
vii
Contents
PREFACE xxiii
CHANGES IN THE SIXTH EDITION xxix
PART I: Thinking Sociologically and
Doing Sociology 2
CHAPTER 1: Sociology and the Real World 6
How to Read This Chapter 9
Practical vs. Scientific Knowledge 9
What Is Sociology? 9
The Sociological Perspective 10
Beginner’s Mind 10
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Doing Nothing 11
IN RELATIONSHIPS: It’s Official: Men Talk More Than Women 12
Culture Shock 12
The Sociological Imagination 13
Levels of Analysis: Micro- and Macrosociology 14
IN THE FUTURE: C. Wright Mills and the Sociological Imagination 15
Sociology’s Family Tree 16
Sociology’s Roots 16
Macrosociological Theory 19
Structural Functionalism 19
Conflict Theory 21
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Eurocentrism and Sociological Theory 23
Weberian Theory 25
ON THE JOB: Famous Sociology Majors 26
Microsociological Theory 27
Symbolic Interactionism 28
CONTENTSviii
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Theories of
Celebrity Gossip 31
New Theoretical Approaches 33
Postmodern Theory 33
Midrange Theory 34
Closing Comments 35
CHAPTER 2: Studying Social Life:
Sociological Research Methods 38
How to Read This Chapter 41
An Overview of Research Methods 41
The Scientific Approach 41
Which Method to Use? 43
Ethnography/Participant Observation 45
Advantages and Disadvantages 47
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Watching People Talk 47
Interviews 48
Advantages and Disadvantages 49
IN THE FUTURE: Action Research 50
Surveys 50
Advantages and Disadvantages 52
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Media Usage
Patterns 53
Existing Sources 54
Advantages and Disadvantages 55
Experimental Methods 56
Advantages and Disadvantages 57
Social Network Analyis 57
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Social Networking Sites as Sources of Data 58
Advantages and Disadvantages 59
Issues in Sociological Research 59
Nonacademic Uses of Research Methods 59
Values, Objectivity, and Reactivity 60
ON THE JOB: Sociology, Market Research, and Design Strategy 61
Research Ethics 63
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: The Nuremberg Code and Research Ethics 64
Closing Comments 65
CONTENTS ix
PART II: Framing Social Life 68
CHAPTER 3: Culture 72
How to Read This Chapter 75
What Is Culture? 75
How Has Culture Been Studied? 75
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism 75
ON THE JOB: The Sharing Economy and Unlikely Cultural
Ambassadors 77
Components of Culture 78
Material Culture 78
Symbolic Culture 79
Values, Norms, and Sanctions 81
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Individual Values vs. University Culture 82
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Seeing Culture in a
Subculture 84
Variations in Culture 85
Dominant Culture 85
Subcultures and Countercultures 85
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Otaku
Culture and the Globalization
of Niche Interests 86
Culture Wars 87
Ideal vs. Real Culture 88
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing
Media and Pop Culture:
How the Image Shapes the
Need 89
Cultural Change 90
Technological Change 90
Cultural Diffusion and Cultural Leveling 90
Cultural Imperialism 91
American Culture in Perspective 91
IN THE FUTURE: Online Radicalization 92
Closing Comments 93
CONTENTSx
CHAPTER 4: Socialization, Interaction, and
the Self 96
How to Read This Chapter 99
What Is Human Nature? 99
The Nature vs. Nurture Debate 99
The Process of Socialization 99
IN THE FUTURE: Genetics and Sociology 100
Social Isolation 100
Theories of the Self 102
Psychoanalytic Theory: Sigmund Freud 103
The Looking- Glass Self: Charles Cooley 104
Mind, Self, and Society: George Herbert Mead 105
Dramaturgy: Erving Goffman 106
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Impression Management
in Action 108
Agents of Socialization 109
The Family 109
Schools 110
Peers 110
The Media 111
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: TV as an Agent
of Socialization 112
Adult Socialization 113
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Sister Pauline Quinn and Training Dogs in
Prison 114
Statuses and Roles 115
Multiple Roles and Role Conflict 115
Emotions and Personality 116
The Social Construction of Emotions 116
Interacting Online 116
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Cross- Cultural Responses to Grief 117
ON THE JOB: The Wages of Emotion Work 118
Closing Comments 119
CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER 5: Separate and Together: Life in
Groups 122
How to Read This Chapter 125
What Is a Group? 125
Primary and Secondary Groups 125
Social Networks 126
Separate from Groups: Anomie or Virtual Membership? 127
IN THE FUTURE: What Happens to Group Ties in a Virtual World? 128
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: “Who’s in Your
Feed?” 130
Group Dynamics 131
Dyads, Triads, and More 131
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Social Networking: You’re Not the Customer—
You’re the Product 132
In- Groups and Out- Groups 132
Reference Groups 133
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: The Twenty Statements
Test: Who Am I? 134
Group Cohesion 135
Social Influence (Peer Pressure) 136
Experiments in Conformity 137
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Group vs. Individual Norms: Honor Killings 138
Working Together: Teams and Leadership 141
Teamwork 141
ON THE JOB: Teamwork and the Tour de France 142
Power, Authority, and Style 142
Bureaucracy 144
The McDonaldization of Society 145
Responding to Bureaucratic Constraints 146
Closing Comments 147
CHAPTER 6: Deviance 150
How to Read This Chapter 153
Defining Deviance 153
Deviance across Cultures 153
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Body Modification 154
Theories of Deviance 155
Functionalism 155
CONTENTSxii
Conflict Theory 156
Symbolic Interactionism 157
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Cyberbullying, Trolls, and Online Deviance 158
The Stigma of Deviance 161
Managing Deviant Identities 162
ON THE JOB: Is “Cash Register Honesty” Good Enough? 163
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: AA’s Pioneer Women 164
Studying Deviance 165
The Emotional Attraction of Deviance 165
The Study of Crime 165
Crime and Demographics 167
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Norm Breaking
on Television 169
The Criminal Justice System 170
IN THE FUTURE: American vs. Scandinavian Prisons 171
Reconsidering Deviance? 172
Closing Comments 173
PART III: Understanding
Inequality 176
CHAPTER 7: Social Class: The Structure of
Inequality 180
How to Read This Chapter 184
Social Stratification and Social Inequality 184
Systems of Stratification 184
Slavery 184
Caste 185
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Systems of Stratification around the
World 186
Social Class 188
Social Classes in the United States 188
The Upper Class 188
The Upper- Middle Class 189
The Middle Class 189
CONTENTS xiii
The Working ( Lower- Middle) Class 190
The Working Poor and Underclass 190
Problematic Categories 190
Theories of Social Class 191
Conflict Theory 191
Weberian Theory 191
Structural Functionalism 192
Postmodernism 193
Symbolic Interactionism 193
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Everyday Class
Consciousness 195
Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances 195
Family 195
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Socioeconomic Status and Mate Selection 196
Health 196
Education 197
Work and Income 198
Criminal Justice 199
Social Mobility 200
Poverty 201
Social Welfare and Welfare Reform 202
The “Culture of Poverty” and Its Critics 204
ON THE JOB: Get a Job! Minimum Wage or Living Wage? 205
The Invisibility of Poverty 206
Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream 209
IN THE FUTURE: Why We Can’t Afford the Rich 210
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Advertising and
the American Dream 212
Closing Comments 213
CHAPTER 8: Race and Ethnicity as Lived
Experience 216
How to Read This Chapter 219
Defining Race and Ethnicity 219
“Ethnic Options”: Symbolic and Situational Ethnicity 221
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Displaying Ethnicity 222
The U.S. Population by Race 223
What Is a Minority? 223
CONTENTSxiv
Racism in Its Many Forms 224
Prejudice and Discrimination 224
White Nationalism 225
White Privilege and Color- Blind Racism 226
Microagressions 227
Cultural Appropriation 227
Reverse Racism 229
Antiracist Allies 229
IN THE FUTURE: Whose Lives Matter? 230
Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race 230
Structural Functionalism 230
Conflict Theory 231
Symbolic Interactionism 232
IN RELATIONSHIPS: From the Lovings to Kimye: Interracial Dating and
Marriage 234
Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances 236
Family 236
Health 237
Education 238
Work and Income 238
ON THE JOB: Diversity Programs: Do They Work? 239
Criminal Justice 240
Intersectionality 241
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Does TV Reflect
the Realities of Race? 241
Intergroup Relations: Conflict or
Cooperation 243
Genocide 243
Population Transfer 243
Internal Colonialism and
Segregation 244
Assimilation 244
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: “The Biggest
Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis
of Our Time” 245
Pluralism 246
Closing Comments 247
CONTENTS xv
CHAPTER 9: Constructing Gender and
Sexuality 250
How to Read This Chapter 253
Sex and Gender 253
Sex 253
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Different Societies, Different Genders 254
Gender 254
Sexuality and Sexual Orientation 256
“Queering the Binary” 257
Socialization: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 257
Families 257
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Rape Culture and Campus Social Life 258
Schools 259
Peers 260
The Media 260
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: The Fashion
Police: Gender and the Rules of Beauty 261
Prejudice and Discrimination 262
Gendered Language and Microaggressions 264
Sociological Theories of Gender Inequality 264
Functionalism 264
Conflict Theory 265
Interactionism 265
Feminist Theory 266
Gender, Sexuality, and Life Chances 266
Families 267
Health 267
Education 268
ON THE JOB: Female Athletes and the Battle for Equal Pay 268
Work and Income 269
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: The Second Shift: Gender
Norms and Household Labor 271
Criminal Justice 273
IN THE FUTURE: Human Trafficking 274
Intersectionality 275
Social Movements 276
Women’s Movements 276
Men’s Movements 277
LGBTQ Movements 277
Closing Comments 279
CONTENTSxvi
PART IV: Social Institutions and the
Micro- Macro Link 282
CHAPTER 10: Social Institutions: Politics,
Education, and Religion 286
How to Read This Chapter 289
What Is Politics? 289
Political Systems: Government 289
The American Political System 291
Who Rules America? 292
The Media and the Political Process 295
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Satirical News
Shows 298
Patriotism and Protest 300
Politics: The Micro- Macro Link 302
What Is Education? 302
A Brief History of Modern Education 302
Education and the Reproduction of Society 303
Classic Studies of Education 305
IN THE FUTURE: A College Degree: What’s It Worth? 306
The Present and Future of Education 306
ON THE JOB: For- Profit Colleges: At What Cost? 310
Education: The Micro- Macro Link 312
What Is Religion? 313
Theoretical Approaches to Religion 313
Religion in America 315
Religious Trends 315
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Thou Shalt Not Kill: Religion, Violence, and
Terrorism 316
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Measures of
Religiosity 318
A Secular Society? 319
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Can a Relationship with God Improve Your
GPA? 320
Religion: The Micro- Macro Link 321
Closing Comments 321
CONTENTS xvii
CHAPTER 11: The Economy and Work 324
How to Read This Chapter 327
Historical and Economic Changes 327
The Agricultural Revolution 327
The Industrial Revolution 328
The Information Revolution 330
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: The World of
Work and Workers as Seen on TV 331
World Economic Systems 332
Capitalism 332
Socialism 333
The U.S. Economy 333
ON THE JOB: Internships: Free Menial Labor or a Leg Up? 334
The Nature of Work 335
Agricultural Work 335
Industrial Work 335
Postindustrial Work 336
Resistance Strategies: How Workers Cope 339
Individual Resistance: Handling Bureaucracy 339
Collective Resistance: Unions 340
IN RELATIONSHIPS: The Value of Break Time 342
The Conscience of Corporate America 343
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: World of Warcraft and “Gold Farming” in
China 344
The Economics of Globalization 345
International Trade 346
Transnational Corporations 346
Global Sweatshop Labor 348
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Are Your Clothes Part of
the Global Commodity Chain? 349
Outsourcing 350
Different Ways of Working 351
Professional Socialization in Unusual Fields 351
IN THE FUTURE: Will Your Job Be “ Uber- ized”? 352
The Contingent Workforce 354
The Third Sector and Volunteerism 355
Time for a Vacation? 356
Closing Comments 357
CONTENTSxviii
CHAPTER 12: Life at Home: Families and
Relationships 360
How to Read This Chapter 363
What Is the Family? 363
Sociological Perspectives on Families 363
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Talking about Kin 364
Structural Functionalism 364
Conflict Theory 365
Symbolic Interactionism 365
Feminist and Queer Theory 366
Mate Selection 367
Relationship Trends 368
Unmarried Life 368
Single and Solo Parenting 369
Blended Families 370
Childfree Living 371
Breaking Up 371
ON THE JOB: When Building Families Is Part of Your Job 372
Custody, Visitation, and Child Support 373
The Work of Family 373
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Comparative
Mealtime 374
Gender, Sexuality, and Family Labor 375
Family and the Life Course 376
IN RELATIONSHIPS: From Boomerang Kids to the Sandwich
Generation 377
Aging in the Family 378
Trouble in Families 378
Intimate Partner Violence 379
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Family Troubles
in Film 380
Child and Elder Abuse 381
IN THE FUTURE: Trends in Baby Making: Back to the Future? 382
Postmodern Families: The New Normal 383
Closing Comments 383
CONTENTS xix
CHAPTER 13: Leisure and Media 386
How to Read This Chapter 389
A Sociology of Leisure 389
What Is Leisure? 389
Trends in Leisure 390
ON THE JOB: Professional Musicians: Playing Is Work 392
The Study of Media 393
The Media and Democracy 393
The Structure of Media Industries 394
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Blockbuster Hits
and the Business of Movies 394
The Regulation of Media Content 398
Culture and Consumption of Media 399
High, Low, and Popular Culture 399
IN THE FUTURE: The Return of Free- Range Kids? 400
Media Effects and Audiences 401
Theories of Media Effects 402
Active Audiences: Minimal Effects Theories 402
Interpretive Strategies and Communities 403
Leisure and Relationships 405
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: The Other Football 406
Leisure and Community 407
Collectors and Hobbyists 408
Hangouts: The Third Place 409
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Fan– Celebrity Relations 410
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Now Go Hang Out 410
Travel and Tourism 412
Closing Comments 413
CHAPTER 14: Health and Illness 416
How to Read This Chapter 419
The Sociology of Medicine, Health, and Illness 419
Defining Health and Illness 420
Types of Illnesses 420
Approaches to Medical Treatment 421
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Student Health Issues
Survey 421
CONTENTSxx
The Process of Medicalization 423
The Social Construction of Mental Illness 423
IN THE FUTURE: Solving the Mystery of Autism 424
Epidemiology and Disease Patterns 425
Social Inequality, Health, and Illness 427
Intersections of Class 427
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Zika Virus: Women and Children Last 428
Intersections of Race 429
Intersections of Gender 429
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Better Living through Chemistry 430
Inequality and the Problem of Food Deserts 430
Medicine as a Social Institution 432
Institutional Contexts 433
Doctor– Patient Relations 433
ON THE JOB: Cultural Competence in Health Professions 434
The Sick Role 436
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Medicine on
Television 437
Issues in Medicine and Health Care 438
Health Care Reform in the United States 438
Complementary and Alternative Medicine 439
Medical Ethics 440
End of Life 441
Closing Comments 441
PART V: Envisioning the Future and
Creating Social Change 444
CHAPTER 15: Populations, Cities, and the
Environment 448
How to Read This Chapter 451
Population 451
Demography 451
IN THE FUTURE: Living to 150 453
Theories of Population Change 454
CONTENTS xxi
Cities 456
Trends in Urbanization 458
ON THE JOB: Agriculture: From the Country to the City 459
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: Imagining the
Cities of Tomorrow 460
Living in the City 462
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Encounters with Strangers 464
The Environment 465
Environmental Problems 466
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Water, Water Everywhere but Not a Drop to
Drink 470
Environmental Sociology 471
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Student Attitudes on
Environmentalism 472
Closing Comments 477
CHAPTER 16: Social Change 480
How to Read This Chapter 483
What Is Social Change? 483
ON THE JOB: Helping Professions: Agents of Social Change 484
Collective Behavior 485
Crowds 485
Mass Behavior 487
Social Movements 489
Promoting and Resisting Change 489
IN RELATIONSHIPS: Hashtag Activism: #Resist with #Indivisible 491
Theories of Social Movements 492
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Everyday Life: Activist Groups Get
Organized 494
Stages in a Social Movement 495
Technology and Social Change 496
IN THE FUTURE: Utopia— or Doomsday? 497
DATA WORKSHOP: Analyzing Media and Pop Culture: The “Unplug”
Experiment 498
Technology in the Global Village 499
CONTENTSxxii
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Bhutan and Gross National Happiness 500
Living in a Postmodern World 502
Closing Comments 503
GLOSSARY G- 1
REFERENCES R- 1
CREDITS C- 1
INDEX I- 1
xxiii
Preface
Welcome to the Sixth Edition of The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. We hope you will appreciate what is new not only in the textbook’s fresh look and updated materials, but also what is new in the innovative ways
it goes about teaching sociology. That’s exactly what we set out to do when we first
embarked on the original project of writing this textbook, and it’s what we continue to
do here in the Sixth Edition.
At the beginning, we had had years of experience in college and university class-
rooms, teaching introductory sociology to thousands of students from all backgrounds
and walks of life; we had discovered a lot about what works and what doesn’t when it
comes to making sociology exciting and effective. As seasoned instructors, we had
developed an approach to teaching and learning that reflected our passion for the sub-
ject and our concern with best practices in pedagogy. But we were having trouble finding
a textbook that encompassed all the elements we had identified and that made such a
difference in our own experience. We were tired of seeing the same old formulas found
in almost every textbook. And we figured we were not alone. Other students and instruc-
tors were probably equally frustrated with repetitive formats, stodgy styles, and seem-
ingly irrelevant or overly predictable materials. That is a great misfortune, for sociology,
at its best, is a discipline that holds great value and is both intellectually stimulating
and personally resonant. Although the impetus to write this textbook began as a way of
answering our own needs, our goal became to create a textbook of even greater benefit to
others who might also be looking for something new.
We are gratified by the response The Real World has received from instructors and
students alike, so we are preserving many of the features that have made the textbook
a success. At the same time, we have done more than just simply revise the textbook. In
this edition, you will find significant new content and added features that will further
enhance the teaching and learning process, and keep us as close to the cutting edge as
possible. Many of the original elements we developed for students and instructors appear
again in these pages. As a foundation, we have maintained a writing style that we hope
is accessible and interesting as well as scholarly. One of the core pedagogical strengths
of this textbook is its focus on everyday life, the media, technology, and pop culture. We
know that the combination of these themes is inherently appealing to students, and that
it relates to their lives. And because both new generations and more experienced soci-
ology instructors might also be looking for something different, another of this book’s
strengths is an integrated emphasis on critical thinking and analytic skills. Rather than
merely presenting or reviewing major concepts in sociology, which can often seem dry
and remote, we seek to make the abstract more concrete through real- world examples
and hands- on applications.
In this text we take a fresh and accessible theoretical approach appropriate to our con-
temporary world. While we emphasize the interactionist perspective, we cover a range
of theoretical thought, including postmodernism. We also build innovative methodo-
logical exercises into each chapter, giving students the opportunity to put into practice
what they are learning. We present material that is familiar and relevant to students in
a way that allows them to make profound analytic connections between their individual
PREFACExxiv
particular real- world case study. This serves as a simple,
practical model for students to then make their own applica-
tions and analyses.
Bolded In- Text Terms
As a student of sociology, you will be learning many new
concepts and terms. Throughout each chapter, you will see
a number of words or phrases in bold type. You may already
recognize some of these from their more common vernacu-
lar use. But it is important to pay special attention to the way
that they are used sociologically. For this reason you will find
definitions in the margins of each page, where you can refer
to them as you read. You should consider these bolded words
and phrases your conceptual “tools” for doing sociology. As
you progress through the chapters in this textbook, you will
be collecting the contents of a toolkit that you can use to bet-
ter understand yourself and the world around you. The bolded
terms can also be found in the Glossary at the back of the book.
Relevance Boxes
In each chapter you will find Relevance Boxes with three
different themes: On the Job, In Relationships, and In the
Future. Relevance Boxes allow students to see the practi-
cal implications and personal value of sociology in their
lives. On the Job explores the ways different people use
sociological training or insights in a variety of work set-
tings. In Relationships looks at how sociology can help us to
better understand our friendships, intimate partnerships,
and family relations. In the Future provides a glimpse into
emerging trends in a rapidly changing society, and what stu-
dents might expect to encounter on the horizon. We include
these boxes to show how taking this course could bear fruit
in your life (and in the lives of others) beyond just fulfilling
your college requirements.
Data Workshops
Data Workshops are designed to give students the opportu-
nity to gain hands- on experience in the practice of sociology
while they are learning. We think this is one of the most fun
parts of being a sociologist. Each chapter features two Data
Workshops, one on “Analyzing Everyday Life” and one on
“Analyzing Media and Pop Culture.” Students will use one
of the research methods covered in Chapter 2 to deal with
actual data from the real world— whether it’s data they col-
lect themselves or raw data provided from another source.
The Data Workshops lead students through the process of
analyzing data using the related conceptual tools they have
just acquired in the chapter. For the Sixth Edition, we now
offer online tutorials for eight of the in- text Data Workshops,
which we hope will make these popular exercises easier to
assign and grade. Each Data Workshop is also included in the
Interactive Instructor’s Guide (IIG).
lives and the structure of their society. We provide instruc-
tors with ways to reenergize their teaching, and we give even
general education students a reason to be fascinated by and
engrossed in their sociology courses. We do this by staying in
touch with our students and the rapidly changing real world,
and by bringing our insight, experience, and intellectual rigor
to bear on a new way of teaching introductory sociology.
Whether you are a student or an instructor, you have prob-
ably seen a lot of textbooks. As authors, we have thought very
carefully about how to write this textbook to make it more
meaningful and effective for you. We think it is important to
point out some newly added and unique features of this text-
book and to tell you why they are included and what we hope
you will get out of them.
Part Introductions
The sixteen chapters in this text are grouped into five parts, …
