Chapter 1 Sociological Perspective, Theory and Methods.
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Transcript of Chapter 1 Sociological Perspective, Theory and Methods.
Chapter 1
Sociological Perspective, Theory and Methods
What is Sociology?
Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior
The study of why Social embeddedness- economic, political, etc. forms
of human behavior shaped by social relationships
Sociological Imagination
C Wright Mills (1959-2000)
The ability to grasp the relationships between individual lives and the larger forces that shape them.
Unemployment on a micro level seen as individual choices, on a macro level seen as a governmental/economical problem
Sociological Perspective Seeing the general in the particular
Sociologists identify general social patterns in the behavior of particular individuals Individuals are unique…but Society’s social forces shape us into “kinds” of
people
Seeing the strange in the familiar Giving up the idea that human behavior is simply a
matter of what people decide to do Understanding that society shapes our lives
Critical Thinking
It helps us assess the truth of “common sense” the things “everybody knows”
Question often more important than answer. Evidence based Assumptions and Biases Willingness to be wrong Anecdotal Evidence- drawing conclusions from single occurances
Development of Modern Sociological Thought
Due to four main developments: 1) The Scientific Revolution- The thought that science
could be applied to human affairs. Term “Sociology” Coined by Comte.
2) The Enlightenment- 17th and 18th centuries brought ideas such as liberty, equality, individuality as being universal. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) saw sociology creating a more peaceful society where humans could then realize their full potential
3) Industrial Revolution- Steam engine, factories, dramatically increased production
4) Urbanization- A result of the Industrial Revolution
Sociological Theory
Theory: a statement of how and why facts are related Explains social behavior to the real world
Theoretical paradigm: a set of fundamental assumptions that guides thinking Three major approaches (theories)
Functionalism Conflict Symbolic-interaction
Functionalism
Oldest theory in sociology Founded by Auguste Comte after the French
Revolution in 1789 Comte is considered the “father of sociology”
Macro-level theory (it looks at the “big picture” in society, specifically large scale social institutions)
Functionalism Sees society as a set of interdependent parts
and no one part is more important than another; when one of the parts is out of balance, they are all out of balance
These parts are: Economy Education Family Politics Religion
Very status-quo oriented Social change should be gradual
Who’s Who in Functionalism Auguste Comte
Father of sociology Importance of social integration during times of rapid
change
Emile Durkheim Research on suicide and social integration
Social integration is our ties to others
Robert K. Merton Manifest functions: Open, stated, intended goals or
consequences Latent functions: Hidden, unstated, unintended goals or
consequences
Weaknesses of Functionalism
One of the most controversial theories in sociology because there will never be a “perfect” social structure.
It focuses on stability, thereby ignoring inequalities of social class, race, and gender.
Conflict Theory Developed as a reaction to functionalism and
gained popularity in the 1960’s and 1970’s Most often associated with Karl Marx Like Functionalism, a macro-level theory that
looks at basically 2 groups: The “haves” and the “have nots” The “haves” are also known as the bourgeoisie
The owners of the means of production The “have nots” are the proletariats
The workers
Conflict Theory Always associated with power to control
others Focus is on groups that can confront each
other Conflict is good because it’s the only way
society can change Social change should be swift
The proletariats should “rise up” and overthrow the bourgeoisie
Who’s Who in Conflict Theory Karl Marx
The importance of social class in inequality and social conflict
His focus is power W.E.B. DuBois
Race as the major problem facing the United States in the twentieth century
Ralf Dahrendorf Focus is on authority
Authority is the power to make others do what you want
Weaknesses of Conflict Theory
It ignores social unity based on mutual interdependence and shared values
Explicitly political so it cannot claim scientific objectivity
Symbolic Interaction Theory
Micro-level theory It looks at individuals and small groups and
human symbolic communication and its importance on interactions of individuals
Believes that as people interact with each other in groups, they are actually rebuilding their social structure
Symbolic Interaction
Basic assumption is that because people can symbolically communicate as they interact, they are actually changing their ideas on what’s appropriate for that situation
Who’s Who in Symbolic Interaction George Herbert Mead
Considered the “father” of SI Concept of the social self Looked at the self as both subject and
object Basically, this means we can “take the
role of the other” in our interactions Taking the role of the other=empathy
Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes
Who’s Who in Symbolic Interaction
Charles Horton Cooley Looking-glass self
We see ourselves through the eyes of other people, even to the extent of incorporating their views of us into our own self-concept
We constantly re-evaluate and change our behavior depending on the situation at hand
1. People are constantly evaluating your behavior2. You get an impression if the evaluation is positive or negative3. You make a decision on whether or not to change your behavior
based on your idea of the impression you believe the other person is thinking
Who’s Who in Symbolic Interaction Erving Goffman Dramaturgical analysis: We look at our interactions with
others as if we were actors on stage; composed of the front stage and back stage
Front stage: part of our performance we want others to see Like cleaning your house before company comes over; you don’t
want them to see dirty laundry laying around
Back stage: part of our performance we want to hide from others Like the stuff you hide in your bathroom closet that you
didn’t get to clean before company came!
Weaknesses of Symbolic Interaction
Its micro-orientation sometimes results in the error of ignoring the influence of larger social structures
By emphasizing what is unique, it risks overlooking the effects of culture, class, gender, and race