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