Culture2
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Transcript of Culture2
INTRODUCTION TO THEORY
AIM: TO UNDERSTAND POSITIVISM &
INTERPRETIVISM
“How is our identity shaped by culture?”
A suggested explanation for something…
A systematic and general attempt to
explain something…
“Why do people get married?”
“Why do people commit
crimes?
“How does the media affect us?” “Why do kids play
truant from school?”
“Why do some people believe in
God?”
TheoryTheory
Sociological theory is a bit like political parties. There are a range of sociologists who have differing opinions about how the
world operates.
Examples of some of these groups are:
Functionalists Marxists Interactionists
Feminists Post-Modernists
These groups then fall into one of two categories and will either be known as:
Positivists Interpretivists
YOU
Think about who you are, your
personality, attitude and behaviour.
Consider the factors that have shaped you into
who you are today
So, who controls who?
Does Society control us? (Positivism)
Do we control society? (Interpretivism)
Think about this image of a grumpy man. Consider:
1) Is he grumpy due to individual factors particular to him or is he grumpy due to the effect of society?
2) He is also shy, is he shy because society has made him shy or is that just an individual characteristic?
Do you think that this child has learnt to behave by society informing and socialising him how to behave (Positivism) or do you think he has learnt to behave
through personal trial and error (Interpretivism)?
Positivism vs Interpretivism
Positivists believe we are influenced by social systems, that
society controls who we are
Interpretivists believe in social action, that we as individuals
control society
Positivists use large samples of people
Interpretivists use small samples/individuals
MACRO MICRO
Positivist or Interpretivist?
To understand crime in Lewes I felt it was really important to question as many people as possible and use statistics
to look at crime in the whole area.
I feel people commit crime in Sussex due to society factors, often there is an element of boredom or lack of jobs in the area which drives people to crime.
My feeling is that often people become criminal because of factors such as neglect, bullying or
psychological problems.
To understand crime I think it is really important to observe small gangs of criminals and get to know their behaviour on a really in-depth basis.
Socialisation
Write a paragraph (5-6 lines) explaining how
Positivists and Interpretivists would
differ in their opinion of how the Socialisation
process works
24 Mark Essay‘Explain what is meant by the socialisation
process and the learning behaviour of humans’
Aim to write around 2 sides of A4 (around 500 words)
Explain the difference between primary and secondary using examples
Refer to the examples of feral children discussed or on the DVD
www.feralchildren.com
Positivism vs Interpretivism
• Also known as top-down/macro/social systems or
structural theory
• Believe that it is important to look at society as a whole when studying it
• Believes sociologists should use more scientific approaches to
society
• Use methods such as Statistics and questionnaires
• Examples are Functionalists, Marxists and Feminists
• Also known as bottom up/micro or social action theory
• Believe that it is important to analyse society by studying individuals
• Believes sociologists should use more in-depth approaches to society
• Use methods such as observations and in-depth interviews
• Examples are Interactionists and Post-modernists