The practical skeptic: reading in sociology

C K .0000059583

The Practical Skeptic

Readings in Sociology

FOURTH

EDITION

NGUYÊN

5C LIẸU

Lisa J. McIntyre

THE PRACTICAL SKEPTIC

READINGS IN SOCIOLOGY

F o u rth E d ition

Lisa J. McIntyre

W ashington State U niversity

McGraw-Hill

raw Higher Education

B o sto n Burr R id g e , IL D u b u q u e, IA New York S a n F r a n c is c o St Louis

B an g k o k B o g o ta C a r a c a s K uala Lum pur L isbon L on d on M adrid M exico City

Milan M ontreal N ew Delhi S a n tia g o S eoul S in g a p o re S y d n e y Taipei Toronto

The McGrow Hill Companies

McGraw-Hill

Higher Education

THE PRACTICAL SKEPTIC: READINGS IN SOCIOLOGY, FOURTH EDITION

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The practical skeptic : readings in sociology / [edited bv] Lisa McIntyre. — 4th ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-07-338003-2 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-07-338003-2 (alk. paper)

1. Sociology. 2. Social problems. 3. United States— Social conditions. I. McIntyre, Lisa J.

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PREFACE

T

h ere a re d o z e n s of an th o lo g ies availab le for in tro d u cto ry -lev el so ciolog y

cla sse s , b u t I th in k th at this o n e is d ifferent. It's d ifferen t b e ca u se as T

co m p ile d an d e d ited th ese articles, I k ep t the n eed s o f in tro d u c to ry stu d en ts

in m in d . T h a t's im p o rtan t. W h en so ciolog ists w rite for th eir p rofession al

co lle a g u e s , th e y tak e for g ra n te d (as th ey sh o u ld ) th at th eir re a d e rs are

eq u ip p e d w ith a g re a t d eal of k n o w led g e. S tu d en t re a d e rs, b y co n tra s t, g e n ­

erally lack this s o rt o f p re p a ra tio n ; con seq u en tly , m a n y stu d e n ts find th at

re a d in g the w o rk s o f so ciolog ists is n o t so m u ch a ch allen g e a s a n o n e ro u s

ch o re . I su s p e ct th at b egin n in g stu d en ts a ssig n ed to read so cio lo g y feel m u ch

like th e th e a te rg o e r w h o stu m b les in to a foreign film th at lacks su b titles. N o

m a tte r h o w d ra m a tic o r co m e d ic th e a ctio n , u n less o n e ca n follow th e d ia ­

lo g u e, th e m o v ie is b o rin g.

in th is v o lu m e , I h a v e tried to b rid g e th e g a p b etw een the so cio lo g ists w h o

w ro te th ese a rticle s an d the stu d e n ts w h o w ill read th em . E a ch a rticle b eg in s

w ith a b rief in trod u ctio n to h elp o rie n t stu d e n ts to the a u th o r 's a im s an d

p o in t o f view , in clu d es fo otn otes co n tain in g exp la n a tio n s o f c o n ce p ts th at are

likely to b e u n fam iliar to n o v ice so ciolog ists, an d co n clu d e s w ith so m e q u es￾tions th a t w ill h elp stu d e n ts s o rt th ro u g h an d m ak e sen se o f w h a t th ey h a v e

read . M y g o a l is to rep lace b o re d o m w ith in tellectu al ch a lle n g e , to m ak e

so cio lo g y n o t "e a s y ," b u t accessib le.

B o th cla ssic an d co n te m p o ra ry article s w e re selected b e cau se th ey h elp to

illu stra te the im p o rta n c e of u n d e rs ta n d in g th e so cial co n te x ts th ro u g h w hich

p e o p le m o v e an d to h ig h ligh t so m e o f the co re c o n ce p ts th a t so cio lo g ists an d

o th e r so cial o b se rv e rs u se to m ak e sen se o f th e so cial w o rld . T h e cla ssic a rti￾cle s esp e c ia lly w e re selected to illu stra te the fo u n d atio n al c o n ce p ts th a t m o st

c o n te m p o ra ry w rite rs ta k e fo r g ra n te d . B ut w h ile th ese fu n d a m e n ta ls m ig h t

se e m o ld h a t to p ro fession al so cio lo g ists, th e y still co n tain im p o rta n t re v e la ­

tion s for b eg in n ers.

PRF.FACE

New to This Edition

In the final selection in this ed ition , R and all C ollins su g g ests th at the core of

sociology is n o t a " s e t of texts o r id e a s." It is, h e tells u s, "a n activ ity ." This

fourth edition o f the read er con tin u es to em p h asize articles th at p ro vid e stu ­

dents the op p ortu n ity to d o the activ ity th at so ciologists d o: to reexam in e the

fam iliar and to rethink co n ven tion al u n d erstan d in g s of these un d erstan d in gs.

M oreover, I w an t to in vite stu d en ts to con tem p late in new w ay s their ow n

participation in the social w orld .

Supplements fo r Text and Reader

Visit o u r O nline L earn in g C e n te r W eb site a t w w w .m h h e .co m /m c m ty re 4 for

rob u st stu d en t an d in stru ctor reso u rces. T h is is a com b in ed W eb site for both

The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology an d its co m p an io n read er, The

Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology.

FO R S T U D E N T S

S tu d en t reso u rces fo r the Core C oncqjts te x t in clu d e self-q u izzes, defined key

co n cep ts, p ra ctica l a p p lication s, an d o th e r ch a p te r stu d y aids.

FO R IN S T R U C T O R S

T h e p assw o rd -p ro tected in stru cto r p o rtio n of the W eb site in clu d es the Core

Concepts text in s tru cto r's m a n u a l (w ritten b y the au th o r), co n tain in g d iscu s￾sion qu estion s an d activ ities, e x a m p le s o f lectu res, tips specifically targ etin g

n ew in stru ctors, a co m p re h e n siv e test b an k and co m p u terized test bank,

an d all the tools availab le to stu d en ts. A lso in clu d ed are a sep arate test

bank an d co m p u terized test b an k for the read er w ith m u ltip le ch oice, tr u e /

false, and essay q u estion s for each read in g.

The Practical skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology

C reated to serv e a s a co m p an io n to the read er, The Practical Skeptic: Readings

in Sociology, this te x t fo cu ses o n co re co n ce p ts a s the cen tral building blocks

for u n d erstan d in g sociology. W ritten in a lively, co n v ersation al style, this text

in clu d es n u m ero u s p e d a g o g ic a l featu res to h elp stu d en ts g rasp key so ciolog ­

ical co n cep ts.

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

The fou rth ed itio n w a s review ed b y the follow in g people, w h o resp on d ed

w ith su g g estion s an d p o in ted o u t n e ce s sa ry revision s, for w h ich I am d eeply

PREFA C E V

g ratefu l: C h ris A d am sk i-M ietu s, W estern Illinois U n iv e rsity ; Ja m e s C assell,

H e n d e rso n S tate U n iv e rsity ; L in d say C u ster, B ellevue C o m m u n ity C o lleg e;

M a rth a D o yle, M ercy C o lleg e o f H ealth S cien ces; Y asm iv n Irizarry, In d ian a

U n iv e rsity ; C h ristin e K. O akley, W ash in gton S tate U n iv e rsity ; K en n on R ice,

A lb rig h t C o lle g e ; and E lizab eth U n d e rw o o d , E a ste rn K en tu ck y U n iversity.

I w o u ld like to th an k the re view ers o f th e third ed ition for th eir insightful

feed b ack : D eb orah A . A bcuvitz, B ucknell U n iv ersity ; Jarl A h lk v ist, U n iv e r￾sity o f C o lo ra d o -C o lo ra d o S p rin g s; C h e rv l A lb ers, B uffalo S tate C o lleg e; Sue

C o x , B ellevu e C o m m u n ity C o lleg e; D erek G reen field , H igh lin e C o m m u n ity

C o lle g e ; Tiffany H a v e s, G reen R iver C o m m u n ity C o lleg e; L ou ise H u ll, G reen

R iv e r C o m m u n ity C o lleg e; B arb ara K arch er, K en n esaw S tate U n iv e rsity ;

Joh n P o in d e x te r, W est S hore C o m m u n ity C o lleg e; Susan R o ss, L vcom in g

C o lle g e ; E rick a S tan g e, C en tral W ash in gton U n iv ersity ; A n n s. Stein, C o lleg e

o f C h a rle sto n ; D eb o rah T h orn e, O h io U n iv ersity ; an d Ja m e e K. W olfe,

R o an o k e C o lleg e.

F o r th e secon d ed itio n , the follow in g in d iv id u als p ro v id e d th o u g h tfu l

re v ie w s an d reco m m e n d a tio n s: D eb orah J. B aian o B erm an , F ram in g h am

S tate C o lle g e ; Je rry B arrish , B ellevu e C o m m u n ity C o lle g e ; V alerie s. B ro w n ,

C u y a h o g a C o m m u n ity C o lleg e; M a rg o Rita C ap p arelli, F ra m in g h a m State

C o lle g e ; D eb ra C o rn eliu s, S h ip p en sb u rg U n iv ersity ; Jam ie D an gler, S U N Y

C o rtla n d ; L au rel R. D avis, Springfield C o lleg e; G loria Y. G a d s d e n , Fairleigh

D ick in son U n iv e rsity ; A la n G . H ill, D elta C o lleg e; S u san E. H u m p h e rs -

G in th er, M o o rh e a d S tate U n iv ersity ; K ath erin e Jo h n so n , N ia g a ra C o u n tv

C o m m u n ity C o lleg e; B arb ara K arch er, K en n esaw S tate U n iv ersity ; D eb ra c.

L em k e, W estern M ary lan d C o lle g e ; P atricia A . M asters, G e o rg e M ason

U n iv e rsity ; S u san M cW illiam s, U n iv ersity of S o u th ern M ain e; K ristv

M c N a m a ra , F u rm a n U n iv ersity ; D an P en ce, S o u th ern U tah U n iv ersity ;

M arcella T h o m p s o n , U n iv ersity of A rk an sas; an d B ren d a s. Z ich a , C h a rle s

S te w a rt M o tt C o m m u n ity C ollege.

T h e fo llo w in g co lle a g u e s rev ie w e d th e m a n u sc rip t and ch o ic e o f articles

for th e first ed itio n an d m a d e m an y helpful su g g e stio n s: Sheila C o rd ray,

O re g o n S tate U n iv e rsity ; R eb ecca E rick son , U n iv e rsity o f A k ron ; A llen

S ca rb o ro . A u g u sta State U n iv e rsity ; an d M arth a L. Shockev, St. A m b ro se

U n iversity.

Lfcn /. \ỉcìỉiture

CONTENTS

P a rt O ne

1

2

Preface Hi

THE SOCIOLOGICAL IM A G IN A TIO N

c . W rig h t M ills The Promise 1

In this classic essay, Mills explains the essential lesson of

sociology: To truly understand people's behavior, we m ust

acquire and learn to use the sociological im agination. Only

then will w e be able to see the im pact of larger social

structures.

Stephanie C oontz How History and Sociology

Can Help Today’s Families 7

A re m en and w om en from different planets? A re A m erica's

\ outh in m ore trouble than ever before? C oon tz show s u s how

understanding the social context of relationships helps us to

gain a d eeper understanding of the issues on m ost people's

m inds in m odern society.

LisaJ. M cIntyre Hernando Washington 18

In this tale of real-life m urder, M cIntyre explains

how som etim es w e can m ake sense of w h at ap p ears

to be senseless by exercising o u r sociological

im aginations.

v iii CONTENTS

P a rt T w o

4

5

6

7

P a rt T h ree

8

THE RESEARCH CRAFT

Simon Davis Men as Success Objects and

Women as Sex Objects: A Study o f Personal

Advertisements 28

W hat do m en and w om en really w ant in potential m ates?

Davis suggests that using unobtrusive research m ethods can

help us get bevond the "politically correct" to find the real

answers.

Gary W y a tt Skipping Class: An Analysis o f

Absenteeism Among First-Year College Students 35

A ccording to m any professors, student absenteeism can be a

problem . W e w onder, "W h at's w rong w ith those students?

D on't they care about their education?" But, is m issing class

really just a “personal trouble"? Or, is som ething else going

on? Professor W yatt did w hat sociologists d o best— som e

research.

LisaJ. M cIntyre Doing the Right Thing: Ethics

in Research 43

In recent years, the w ork of social researchers has com e

under increasing scrutiny. In her paper, M cIntyre discusses

the som etim es scandalous history of research and explores

w h at it m eans today to be an ethical social researcher.

Philip M eyer I f H itler Asked You to Electrocute

a Stranger, Would You? Probably 53

A s M eyer recounts, Stanley M ilgram 's research on obedience

tau g h t us a g reat deal about the extent to w hich everyday

people w ill d o as they are told— even w hen w h at they are

told to do is repulsive. But, w as gaining this know ledge

w orth the em otional price paid by M ilgram 's subjects?

CULTURE

Clyde K luckhohn Queer Customs 64

W h at is cu ltu re? H ow d o es it affect o u r lives? H ow is

cu ltu re different from society? In this classic piece,

an th ro p o lo gist K luckhohn explains how social scientists

define an d u se the co n cep t of culture.

C O N TEN TS

H orace M ine r Body Ritual Among

the Nacirema 70

M in er's accou n t of the N acirem a show s how dau n tin g is the

task of cross-cultural researchers— how they m ust pu t aside

personal biases and cope w ith the exotic and som etim es

repugnant behaviors of the people they study.

Cheryl Laz Act Your Age 75

Sociologists tend to question m any of the things that m ost

people take for gran ted. In the process w e have discovered

surprising things about social life. In this article, Professor

Laz m anaged to surprise even m anv sociologists w hen she

found som ething that even sociologists have taken for

gran ted as not very social: age. A ge, she argu es, is not just

som ething w e have, it's som ething w e perform . A nd how we

perform it depends upon the expectations of those around us.

Laurie Scheuble and David R. Johnson

M a rita l Name Change: Plans and Attitudes

o f College Students 85

A s Shakespeare's Juliet so fam ously asked , "W h a t's in a

n am e?" Parents agonize over baby n am es and m arketers

spen d m illions to capture just the right m onikers fo r their

products. Do w om en about to be w ed pu t m uch thought

into losing the su rn am es th ey 've had since birth?

Elijah Anderson The Code o f the Streets 94

W hile m any see only law lessness and d isord er on the

streets of o u r inner cities, A nderson explains that it is

otherw ise. Even w h ere w h at seem s to be unregulated

violence prevails, there are n orm s that m u st be and are

respected.

W illia m T. Biel by Rock in a H ard Place:

Grassroots Cultural Production in the

Post-Elvis Era 103

W hen Elvis Presley appeared for the first tim e on national

television in 1956, his perform ance shocked A m erican adults.

A lthough a few critics said he w as just a passing fancy, m anv

w orried that Presley's influence w ould underm ine A m erican

culture. The truth w as som ething in the middle.

P a rt F o u r SOCIAL STRUCTURE

14 Erving G offm an The Presentation o f Self

in Everyday Life 118

Shakespeare pu t it this w ay: "A ll the w orld's a stage."

Goffman transform ed the B ard's insight into one of our

m ost interesting and robust perspectives on the social

world.

1 5 A drian F. Aveni The Not-So-Lonely Crowd:

Friendship Groups in Collective Behavior 127

People in crow ds have been know n to do crazy things; it's

as if being a participant in a m ass of individuals gives one

license to d o anything. But, are crow ds really the anonym ous

collections of people they seem to be?

16 Philip G. Z im bard o The Pathology

o f Imprisonment 132

W hether you end up being one of the good guys or one of

the bad guys can som etim es depend less on your personal

qualities than on the roles you are required to play. A t least,

that is w hat Zim bardo found in the fam ous "Stanford Prison

Experim ent."

17 Greta F o ff Paules “ Getting" and “ M akinv"

a Tip 137

You take a friend out to dinner and receive lousy service.

"W ell," you explain to your dining partner, "I'll just leave a

lousy tip. That will send a m essage to our w aitress." Sound

familiar? According to Paules's research, chances are that's a

m essage your w aitress will never receive.

1 8 N atalie Adam s and Pamela Bettis

Commanding the Room in short Skirts: Cheering

as the Embodiment o f Ideal Girlhood 145

A generation ago, no one thought of cheerleading as a sport;

cheerleading conjured up im ages of pom pom s, short skirts,

and pep. Today, cheerleading requires an athleticism that

rivals that displayed by the best plavers on the field. W hy

the change?

C O N T E N T S x i

1 9 Harvey M o lo tch The Rest Room and Equal

Opportunity 158

N ow , here's an im portant question: W hy d o w om en spend

so m uch tim e in the bathroom ?

P a rt Five SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS A N D SOCIALIZATION

2 0 Steven B rint, M a ry F. C ontreras, and M ichael

T. M atthew s Socialization Messages in Primary

Schools: An Organizational Analysis 162

B esides the "T h ree R 's," just w hat is being tau gh t to p rim a n

school students? If you 'v e been listening to som e of the

political debates, the answ ers m ay just surprise you.

21 Blake E. A shford and Glen E. Kreiner “ How

Can You Do It?” D irty Work and the challenge

o f Constructing a Positive Identity 182

E very society has them — occupations that are socially

necessary but looked dow n upon as tainted. H ow d o people

cope with doing w ork that is stigm atized?

2 2 Gwynne D yer Anybody's Son W ill Do 205

H ow difficult is it to turn ordinary boys into professional

killers? Apparently, it's not that hard, as long as YOU know

w hat buttons to push.

2 3 Thom asJ. Schm id and Richard s. Jones

Suspended Identity: Identity Transformation

in a Maximum Security Prison 2 1 7

"A prison sentence constitutes a 'm assive assault' on the

identity of those im prisoned." W hat happens to the self in

prison? C an the self ever really be reclaim ed once som eone

gets out of prison?

2 4 Lynn Z im m e r How Women Reshape the Prison

Guard Role 229

Sociologists frequently stress the p ow er of social roles to

shap e individuals' behavior. Z im m er finds that, u nder som e

circu m stan ces, indiv iduals can sh ap e social roles.

x ii CON TEN TS

2 5 Patti A. G iuffre and C hristine L. W illiam s

Not Just Bodies: Strategies for Desexualizing the

Physical Examination o f Patients 24 7

For physicians and nurses a naked body is routine; it's

nothing to get excited about. Right?

P a rt Six DEVIANCE A N D SOCIAL CONTROL

2 6 Émile D urkheim The Normality o f Crime 258

In this excerpt from a classic essay, D urkheim explains w hy

crim e and deviance are inevitable p arts of social life.

2 7 W illia m J. Cham bliss The Saints and the

Roughnecks 260

Sociologists continue to find m ore and m ore evidence that

frequently w ho you are is m ore im portant than w hat y ou do.

Using evidence gathered during a tw o-year study of high

school students, Cham bliss illustrates this im portant

dynam ic.

2 8 D. L. Rosenhan On Being Sane in Insane

Places 272

You m ay be surprised by w h at you read in this classic

accoun t of w hat happened w hen som e "sa n e " people

checked them selves into m ental hospitals.

2 9 A. Ayres Boswell and Joan z. Spade

Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why

Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places

for Women? 280

In the 1980s, several social researchers concluded that college

fraternities are dangerous places for w om en visitors. In this

m ore evenhanded accoun t of the effect of fraternity culture

on individual behavior, the authors explain that not all

fraternities are alike.

3 0 Emily E. LaBeff, R obert E. C lark, ValerieJ.

Haines, and George M . D ie k h o ff Situational

Ethics and College Student Cheating 293

Everybody "k n ow s" that cheating is w rong, but is it alw ays

w rong? The authors of this research report explore the

C O N TE N TS x iií

variou s reasons that college students give for cheating. H ow

persuasive do vou find their explanations?

31 M ichael L. Benson Denying the Guilty M ind:

Accounting for Involvement in a W hite-Collar

Crime 299

"M v speed om eter cable is broken and I had no idea I w as

driv ing so fast!" "M v alarm d id n 't go off this m orning—

th at's w hy I m issed the final ex a m ." "M y printer stopped

w orking so I ca n 't turn in the paper on tim e." It's routine to

offer explanations o r "a cco u n ts" to excuse o r justify our

m isdeeds so that people w on 't condem n o u r behavior. But

w h at happens if w e get cau g h t doing som ething really

w ron g? In this article, you will read the accou n ts offered by

m en convicted of w hite-collar crim es.

P a rt Seven INEQUALITY

3 2 James Loewen The Land o f Opportunity 308

Sociologists' obsession w ith inequality surprises m any

lavpeople (and m ost students). W hy is that? H istorian

Loew en claim s it's becau se m ost students leave high school

as "terrible sociologists."

3 3 Barbara Ehrenreich Nickel and Dimed:

On (N ot) Getting By in America 318

Ehrenreich has w ritten a lot of books and articles, but in 1998

she left hom e to try to d iscover how people survive w orking

m inim um -w age jobs. She w asn 't ã great success in this p art of

the real w orld.

3 4 Katherine New m an and C hauncỵ Lennon

The Job Ghetto 336

In their accou n t of the problem s faced bv w orkers in the

inner cities, N ew m an and Lennon p rovid e an im portant

w arn in g for anyon e w h o thinks that there are easy an sw ers

to unem ploym ent.

3 5 Joe R. Feagin Racism 339

If ever there com es 1Ì tim e that I w ant absolute silence in mv

classroom , I will sim plv announce, "Todav, w e are su in g to

talk about racism ." Feagin 's article helped mo to understand

w hv the silence is so deafening.