Developing a Sociological Perspective

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Chapter 1

• Developing a Sociological Perspective

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Chapter Outline

• What is Sociology?
• The Sociological Imagination
• The Significance of Diversity
• The Development of Sociology
• Theoretical Frameworks in Sociology

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What Is Sociology?

• The study of human behavior in society.
• A scientific way to think about society and its
  influence on humans.
• Includes the study of social behavior and social
  change.

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Question

• What do the following people have in common?
• Dan Akroyd (actor comedian)
• Debra Winger (actress)
• Saul Bellow (novelist Nobel Prize recipient)
• Joe Theissman (NFL quarterback)
• Rev. Jesse Jackson
• Robin Williams (comedian actor)
• Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Ronald Reagan

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Answer

• They were all sociology majors.

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Disciplines of Sociology

• Psychology analyzes human behavior.
• Anthropology is the study of human cultures.
• Political Science is the study of politics.

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Disciplines of Sociology

• Economics studies the production, distribution
  and consumption of goods and services.
• Social Work uses the social sciences to serve
  people in need.

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The Sociological Imagination

• Ability to see societal patterns that influence
  life.
• C. Wright Mills wrote about sociological
  perspective in The Sociological Imagination.
• Sociology can reveal how society shapes our lives.

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Troubles and Issues

• Troubles are private problems in an individuals
  life.
• Issues affect large numbers of people
• Issues shape the context within which troubles
  arise.

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Debunking

• Studying the patterns and processes that shape
  behavior.
• Questioning actions and ideas that are usually
  taken for granted.
• Acting as an outsider within.

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Understanding Diversity

• Understanding diversity is critical to
  understanding society because patterns of social
  change and social structure are influenced by
  diverse group experiences.
• Diversity includes
• the shaping of social institutions by different
  social factors
• the formation of group and individual identity
• the process of social change

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Share of Minorities in the U.S. Population
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Americas Diversity White
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Americas Diversity African American
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Americas Diversity Hispanic
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Americas Diversity Asian American
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Americas Diversity American Indian
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Sociology and the Enlightenment

• Faith in the ability of human reason to solve
  societys problems.
• Belief that natural laws and processes in society
  are used for the general good.

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Influence of the Enlightenment

• Positivists - society could be studied using the
  natural sciences.
• Humanitarianism - human reason can direct social
  change for the betterment of society.

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Sociology in Europe Comte

• French philosopher
• Coined the term sociology
• Believed sociology could discover laws of human
  social behavior and help solve societys problems

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Sociology in Europe Tocqueville

• French citizen who traveled to the United States
  1831
• Wrote an analysis of U.S. democratic culture and
  society.
• In the United States the tyranny of kings was
  replaced by the tyranny of the majority.

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Sociology in Europe Martineau

• British citizen who toured the United States in
  1834.
• Wrote Society in America, an analysis of social
  customs she observed.
• Wrote first sociological methods book on
  participant observation.

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Classical SociologicalTheory Durkheim

• Viewed society as an entity larger than the sum
  of its parts.
• Conceptualized social facts as social patterns
  external to individuals.
• Discovered the social basis of human behavior.

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Classical SociologicalTheory Marx

• Work was devoted to explaining how capitalism
  shaped society.
• Profit is produced through the exploitation of
  the working class.
• Considered the economic organization of society
  the most important influence on what humans think
  and how they behave.

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Classical SociologicalTheory Weber

• Theorized that society had three dimensions
  political, economic,and cultural.
• Believed that to understand social behavior one
  had to understand the meaning that a behavior had
  for social actors.

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Sociology in America

• American sociologists believed sociology could
  help solve social problems.
• The Chicago School - concerned with the
  relationship of individual to society and society
  as a human laboratory.

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Key Sociological Concepts

• Social structureOrganized pattern of social
  relationships and institutions that together
  constitute society
• Social institutionsEstablished and organized
  systems of social behavior with a recognized
  purpose.

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Key Sociological Concepts

• Social changeThe alteration of society over
  time.
• Social interactionA behavior between two or more
  people that is given meaning.

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Sociological Theory Individual and Society
Functionalism Individuals occupy fixed social roles.
Conflict Theory Individuals subordinated to society.
Symbolic Interaction Individual and society are interdependent.
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Sociological Theory View of Inequality
Functionalism Inevitable functional for society
Conflict Theory Result of struggle over scarce resources.
Symbolic Interaction Inequality demonstrated through meaning of status symbols.
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Sociological Theory Basis of Social Order
Functionalism Consensus on common values.
Conflict Theory Power coercion
Symbolic Interaction Collective meaning systems society created through social interaction
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Sociological Theory Source of Social Change
Functionalism Disorganization and adjustment to achieve equilibrium.
Conflict Theory Struggle competition
Symbolic Interaction Ever-changing web of relationships and meaning of things.
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Sociological Theory Criticisms
Functionalism A conservative view of society that underplays power differences among and between groups.
Conflict Theory Understates the degree of cohesion and stability in society.
Symbolic Interaction There is little analysis of inequality and it overstates the subjective basis of society.
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Polling Question

• Which sociological perspective do you think is
  generally the weakest in explaining things in our
  society?
• A.) Functionalist
• B.) Conflict Theory
• C.) Symbolic interaction

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Polling Question

• Which sociological perspective do you think
  explains the concept of inequality in our society
  the most accurately?
• A.) Functionalist
• B.) Conflict Theory
• C.) Symbolic interaction

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Quick Quiz
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• 1. Sociology is the study of
• a. personality types
• b. political philosophy
• c. human behavior
• d. the distribution of goods and services

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Answer c

• Sociology is the study of human behavior.

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• 2. The ability to see the societal patterns that
  influence individual and group life is referred
  to as
• a. commonsense
• b. social speedup
• c. Wright's Theorem
• d. the sociological imagination

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Answer d

• The ability to see the societal patterns that
  influence individual and group life is referred
  to as the sociological imagination.

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• 3. The sociologist that first coined the term
  sociology is
• a. Auguste Comte
• b. Emile Durkheim
• c. Karl Marx
• d. Harriet Martineau

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Answer a

• The sociologist that first coined the term
  sociology is Auguste Comte.

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• 4. According to Karl Marx, the most important
  influence on what humans think and how they
  behave is
• a. the socio-emotional organization of
  society
• b. the economic organization of society
• c. the political organization of society
• d. the religious organization of society

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Answer b

• According to Karl Marx, the most important
  influence on what humans think and how they
  behave is the economic organization of society.

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• 5. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes
• a. the role of coercion and power
• b. class struggles
• c. face-to-face contact
• d. the interdependent parts of society

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Answer c

• Symbolic interactionism emphasizes face-to-face
  contact.