1. Unit 1 Social Perspectives Chapter 1: An Invitation to Sociology
Ms. Harris – Austin High School

2. Objectives Define Sociology
Outline contributions of the major pioneers of sociology
Summarize the development of sociology in the USA
Identify the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology today
Define Sociology
Describe two uses of the sociological perspective
Distinguish sociology from other social sciences

3. 3. Sociological perspective – a view that looks at behavior of groups, not individuals
 4. Social structure – the patterned interaction of people in social relationships
Key Terms
1. Perspective – a particular point of view
 2. Sociology – the scientific study of social structure (human social behavior)

4. 5. Sociological imagination-
the ability to see the link between society and self

5. Sec. 1 -- The Sociological Perspective
What is sociology?
The scientific study places focus is on the social, or group, level.
What is unique about sociology?
Psychologists may study the individual, sociologists study the group.

6. The Importance of Patterns
6. How do group behavior and individual behavior differ?
Group dynamics are created when individuals come together
7. Why do people conform?
Groups encourage conformity. Members of the group think, feel, and behave in similar ways.

7. 8. Explain the significance of patterns for sociologists.
The patterned interaction of people in social relationships identifies social structure

8. 9. What is gained by using our sociological imagination
9. What is gained by using our sociological imagination? Knowing how social forces affect our lives can prevent us from being prisoners of those forces

9. 10. How does the sociological imagination help people to understand the effects of society on their personal lives? Using sociological imagination, we challenge conventional social wisdom (traditional beliefs)
Give an example from your life that illustrates conformity within a group.

10. Sec. 2 – The Origins of Sociology

11. Key Terms
11. Positivism – the belief that knowledge should be derived from scientific observation

12. the study of social stability and order the study of social change
12. Social statics
13. Social dynamics
the study of social stability and order
the study of social change

13. 15. Capitalist – person who owns or controls the means for producing wealth
14. Bourgeoisie – class owning the means for producing wealth

14. 16. Proletariat – working class; those who labor for the bourgeoisie

15. 17.  Class conflict – the ongoing struggle between the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (working) classes.

16. 18. Mechanical solidarity – social dependency based on a widespread consensus of values and beliefs, enforced conformity, and dependence on tradition and family
19. Organic solidarity – Social interdependence based on a high degree of specialization in roles

17. 20. Verstehen – understanding social behavior by putting yourself in the place of others

18. 21. Rationalization – the mind-set emphasizing knowledge, reason, and planning

19. 22. What were Auguste Comte’s major ideas?
Positivism – he meant that science based on knowledge can be positive – or true
Distinguished between social statics (stability) and social dynamics (change)
Father of Sociology
Theories published in Positive Philosophy

20. 23. What were Harriet Martineau’s contributions?
Wrote Society in America, which established her as a pioneering feminist theorist
Linked slavery and the oppression of women
Her English translation of Comte’s book is the most readable one – even today.

21. 24. Why did Herbert Spencer oppose social reform?
Introduced the theory of social change called Social Darwinism. He did not think people should interfere with evolutionary social change.

22. 25. Who was Karl Marx?
German scholar whose ideas affected the study of sociology
Identified social classes in the 19th-century industrial society and predicted all societies would contain only bourgeoisie and proletariat
Predicted class conflict would lead to a communistic society.
He was convinced that a planned revolution would speed up change from capitalism to communism.

23. 26. What were Emile Durkeim’s greatest contributions?
Mechanical solidarity – society that existed in preindustrial times.
Organic solidarity – social interdependency based on specialized roles.
Introduced technique that led to ground-breaking research on suicide.
Showed that human social behavior must be explained by social factors, rather than psychological ones.

24. 27. Who was Max Weber? Believed in method of verstehen
Rationalization was key to change in preindustrial to an industrial society
Pioneered techniques to prevent personal biases in investigation
German who wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Single most important influence on development of sociological theory

25. Sociology in America Led social reform to achieve social justice
28. Why should we remember Jane Addams?
Led social reform to achieve social justice
Co-founded Hull House
Hull House helped people who needed refuge
Placed focus on social problems caused by imbalance of power among the social classes
Nobel Peace Price in 1931

26. McDonaldization of Higher Education
Disadvantages
Advantages
Universities are treating students like customers
Education is being dehumanized
Less choice among instructors on satellite campuses
No opportunity to form relationships
Distance learning -
Efficiency – maximum results with minimum effort
Calculability involves estimation – effort can be associated with predictability
Predictability
Control – replace humans with technology

27. Other McDonaldized industries
Churches
doctors offices,
hospitals,
government agencies,
gambling casinos,
DMV,
creditors

28. Theoretical Perspectives

29. Key Terms
30. Functionalism – approach that emphasizes the contributions made by each part of society
29. Theoretical perspective – a set of assumptions accepted as true

30. Unintended and unrecognized consequences of an aspect of society
31. Manifest functions intended and recognized consequences of an aspect of society
32. Latent functions
Unintended and unrecognized consequences of an aspect of society

31. 34. Conflict perspective --
Approach emphasizing the role of conflict, competition, and constraint within a society
33. Dysfunction
Negative consequence of an aspect of society

32. The ability to control the behavior of others
35. Power
The ability to control the behavior of others

33. 36. Symbol
Anything that stands for something else and has an agreed-upon meaning attached to it

34. Approach that depicts human interaction as theatrical performances
37. symbolic interactionism
Approach that focuses on the interactions among people based on mutually understood symbols
38. Dramaturgy
Approach that depicts human interaction as theatrical performances

35. The Role of Theoretical Perspectives
39. What is a theoretical perspective?

36. Functionalism
40. How does functionalism explain social change?
Functionalists believe that society returns to stability after an upheaval by changing in a way to be similar to what it was before
41. How does functionalism view values?
The consensus of values account for cooperation found in any society (eg. Americans, in general, agree on democracy and equal opportunity.)

37. Symbolic Interactionism
Functionalism
Conflict Perspective
Symbolic Interactionism
A society is a relatively integrated whole
A society experiences inconsistency and conflict everywhere
People’s interpretations of symbols are based on the meanings they learn from others
A society tends to seek relative stability
A society is continually subjected to change.
People base their interaction on their interpretations of symbols
Most aspects of a society contribute well-being and survival
A society involves the constraint and coercion of some members by others
Symbols permit people to have internal conversations. Thus, they can gear their interpretation to the behavior that they think others expect of them and the behavior they expect of others
A society rests on the consensus of its members

38. Conflict Perspective
What is the role of conflict and constraint?
How does the conflict perspective explain social change?
Which perspective is better?
Symbolic Interactionism
What is the significance of symbols in symbolic interactionism?
What are the basic assumptions of symbolic interactionism?

39.  Indicate whether the following statements represent functionalism (F), the conflict perspective ( C ), or symbolic interactionism (S).
___ 42. Societies are in relative balance
___ 43. Power is one of the most important
elements in social life
___ 44. Religion helps hold a society
together morally
___ 45. Symbols are crucial to social life

40. ___ 46. Many elements of a society exist to benefit the
powerful
___ 47. Different segments of a society compete to
achieve their own self-interest rather
than cooperate to benefit others
___ 48. Social life should be understood from the
viewpoint of the individuals involved
___ 49. Social change is constantly occurring
___ 50. Conflict is harmful and disruptive to society