Chapter One The Sociological Perspective

1
Chapter OneThe Sociological Perspective
John J. Macionis 10th EditionSociology

• Created by Lori Ann Fowler

2
The Sociological Perspective

• Sociology is the systematic study of human
  society.
• The sociological perspective helps us to see
  general in the particular.
• It encourages us to realize that society guides
  our thoughts and deeds.

• Sociology also encourages us to see individuality
  in social context.
• Emile Durkheims research showed that the suicide
  rate was strongly influenced by how connected
  people feel to one another.

3
Insert FIGURE 1-1 Rate of Death by Suicide
Figure 1-1 Rate of Death by Suicide
4
The Importance of Global Perspective

• The worlds high-income countries are
  industrialized nations.
• The worlds middle-income countries have limited
  industrialization.
• The worlds low-income countries have little
  industrialization.

• Sociologists also strive to see issues in global
  perspective.
• The global perspective may be defined as the
  study of the larger world and our societys place
  in it.
• There are three different types of nations in the
  world.

5
Global Map 1-2 Economic Development in Global
Perspective
6
Applying the Sociological Perspective

• It is easy to apply the sociological perspective
  when we encounter people who are different from
  us.
• These encounters remind us how society shapes our
  individual lives.
• From time to time, everyone feels like an
  outsider.
• Social marginality feeling as though you are
  not part of the dominant group.

7
Applying the Sociological Perspective

• Periods of social change prompt us to use the
  sociological perspective.
• During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the
  unemployment rate soared to twentyfive percent.
• People out of work could not help but see the
  social forces at work in their particular lives.
• Just as social change can bring about
  sociological thinking, sociological thinking can
  bring about change.

8
Benefits of the Sociological Perspective

• The sociological perspective helps us assess the
  truth of common sense.
• The sociological perspective helps us assess both
  opportunities and constraints in our lives.

• The sociological perspective empowers us to be
  active participants in our society.
• The sociological perspective helps us to live in
  a diverse world.

9
The Origins of Sociology

• Three major social changes during the seventeenth
  and eighteenth centuries are important to the
  development of sociology.
• (1) The rise of a factory-based industrial
  economy
• (2) The emergence of great cities in Europe
• (3) Political changes

10
The Origins of Sociology

• Auguste Comte believed that the major goal of
  sociology was to understand society as it
  actually operates.
• Comte favored positivisma way of understanding
  based on science.
• Comte saw sociology as the product of a
  three-stage historical development
• (1) The theological stage
• (2) The metaphysical stage
• (3) The scientific stage

11
Sociological Theory

• A theory is a statement of how and why specific
  facts are related.
• The goal of sociological theory is to explain
  social behavior in the real world.
• Theories are based on theoretical paradigms, sets
  of assumptions that guide thinking and research.

12
The StructuralFunctional Paradigm

• The structural-functional paradigm sees society
  as a complex system whose parts work together.
• It asserts that our lives are guided by social
  structures.
• Each social structure has social functions.
• The influence of this paradigm has declined in
  recent decades.
• It focuses on stability, thereby ignoring
  inequalities of social class, race, and gender.

13
The StructuralFunctional Paradigm

• Key figures in the development of this paradigm
  include
• Auguste Comte
• Emile Durkheim
• Herbert Spencer
• Talcott Parsons
• Robert Merton

14
Social Function

• Robert Merton introduced three concepts related
  to social function
• Manifest functions, the recognized and intended
  consequences of any social pattern.
• Latent functions, largely unrecognized and
  unintended consequences.
• Social dysfunctions, undesirable consequences of
  a social pattern.

15
The SocialConflict Paradigm

• The social-conflict paradigm sees society as an
  arena of inequality that generates conflict and
  change.
• Key figures in this tradition include Karl Marx
  and W.E.B. Du Bois.
• Critical evaluation This paradigm has developed
  rapidly in recent years.
• It has several weaknesses
• It ignores social unity.
• Like the structural-functional paradigm, it
  envisions society in terms of broad abstractions.

16
The SymbolicInteraction Paradigm

• The symbolic-interaction paradigm sees society as
  the product of the everyday interactions of
  individuals.
• Symbolic-interactionism has a micro-level
  orientation.
• It focuses on patterns of social interaction in
  specific settings.

17
The SymbolicInteraction Paradigm

• Key figures in the development of this paradigm
  include
• Max Weber
• George Herbert Mead
• Erving Goffman
• George Homans
• Peter Blau

18
The SymbolicInteraction Paradigm

• Critical evaluation Symbolic Interactionism
  attempts to explain more clearly how individuals
  actually experience society.
• It has two main weaknesses
• 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.

19
Table 1-1 The Three Major Theoretical Paradigms
A Summary
20
What is the Difference Between Stereotyping and
Generalizing?

• Stereotypes
• Paint every individual with the same brush.
• Ignore facts and distort reality.
• Sound like put-downs.

• Generalizations
• Are not applied indiscriminately.
• Square with available facts.
• Are offered with an interest in getting at the
  truth.