The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program 11 Essentials of Sociology Sociology 9 th Edition Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Stresses the social contexts in which people live Looks at how people are influenced by their society and how social forces affect human behavior “The Sociological Imagination” a term coined by C. Wright Mills refers to being able to look beyond common sense for explanations of why people act the way they do 22 The Sociological Perspective
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Sociologists study ones social location to understand human behavior Social Location refers to the corners in life that people occupy Social Location includes: Jobs, Social Class, Race, Occupation, Sex, Religion and other demographics Social Location can shape our ideas of who we are and what we should attain in life 33 Social Location
The Sociological Perspective Our own social locations help inform our sociological perspective How does your sex influence the way you relate to others in casual conversation? How does your social class help shape your goals in education? How does your race impact the way you view social interactions at department stores?
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Sociology emerged in the middle of the 1800’s during a period of social upheaval The scientific method, which was used in the physical sciences, led to the birth of Sociology 55 The Birth of Sociology
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Lived in France Comte was the 1 st Sociologist to advocate using positivism to studying social life Coined the term “Sociology” (the study of society) Advocate of social reform Practiced “Armchair Philosophy” 66 Auguste Comte: Founder of Sociology ©Roger-Viollet/The Image Works
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Lived in England Disagreed with Comte that Sociology should guide reform Societies evolve from lower to higher forms Coined the term “Survival of the Fittest” Did not conduct scientific studies 77 Herbert Spencer: Social Darwinism ©Huton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Class conflict is the engine of human history Proletariat vs. the Bourgeoisie Marxism is not the same as Communism “I am not a Communist” 88 Karl Marx: Class Conflict ©Bettmann/Corbis
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 st Professor of Sociology Studied suicide rates in several European countries in which he concluded social forces underlie suicidal behavior We must examine how social forces, such as social integration, affect human behavior 99 Emile Durkheim: Social Integration ©Bettmann/Corbis
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Lived in Germany Disagreed with Marx Religion is the central force in social change The Protestant Ethic is tied to the rise of capitalism 10 Max Weber: Religion ©The Granger Collection, New York
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Attitudes of the Time 1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined Higher education reserved for men and the wealthy Harriet Martineau Published Society in America Before Durkheim and Weber Were Born Known for translating Comte’s works from French to English 11 Sexism in Early Sociology ©The Granger Collection, New York
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Came from a background of privilege She worked tirelessly for social justice Co-founded the Hull House in 1889 Campaigned for laws against child labor Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 ©The Granger Collection, New York Jane Addams and Social Reform
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 st African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard Every year between 1896 and 1914 he published a book on race relations between African Americans and White He became active in social reform after years of collecting and interpreting data Founded the N.A.A.C.P. 13 W.E.B. Du Bois and Race Relations ©The New York Public Library/Art Resource, NYould
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Talcott Parsons developed abstract models of society that influenced a generation of sociologists. C. Wright Mills urged Sociologists to get back to social reform. He believed that our freedom was being threatened by the power elite—the top leaders of business, politics, and the military. 14 Talcott Parson and C. Wright Mills: Theory vs. Reform
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Some sociologists see their role as basic sociology: analyzing some aspect of society, with no goal other than gaining knowledge. One attempt to go beyond basic sociology is applied sociology, using sociology to solve problems. 15 Figure 1.3 Comparing Basic and Applied Sociology. Source: By the author. Based on DeMartini 1982, plus events since then. Basic and Applied Sociology
The Sociological Perspective. Figure 1.4 Call-Back Rates by Race–Ethnicity and Criminal Record Source: Courtesy of Devah Pager - Basic, Applied, and Public - What type of sociology best describes the type of research seen on the left? - How might the researcher’s findings be different if women were included in her study?
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Theory-a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work Sociologists use theories to conduct sociological research Allows Sociologists to view a social problem from many different perspectives Symbolic Interactionist Functional Analysis Conflict Theory 17 Three Theoretical Perspectives
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Symbolic Interactionists believe that individuals evaluate their own conduct by comparing themselves with others Symbolic Interactionists study: How people interpret symbols How people interact one on one How people behave according to how they define themselves and others 18 Symbolic Interactionism
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Functional Analysis perspective views society as a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together. Functional Analysists study: The structure of society How each part of society has certain functions that must be fulfilled What happens to society when dysfunctions occur 19 Functional Analysis
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Founded by Karl Marx Groups competing for scarce resources Groups competing for power and authority Conflict can be positive as it can bring about positive change 20 Conflict Theory
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Macro Level - Large Scale Patterns in Society Functional Analysis and Conflict Theory are components of Macroanalysis Micro Level- Social interactions on a small scale Symbolic Interactionism is a component of Microanalysis Which level of analysis is best? 21 Two Levels of Sociological Analysis
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Scientific Research Model Follows Eight Basic Steps: 22 (1) Selecting a topic (2) Defining the problem (3) Reviewing the literature (4) Formulating a hypothesis (5) Choosing a research method (6) Collecting the data (7) Analyzing the results (8) Sharing the results Doing Sociological Research
The Sociological Perspective
Imagine that you (or your research team) wanted to conduct steps one through eight to study religious diversity in the United States. What will your topic be? What will you define as the problem? Where will you locate background literature? What will be your working hypothesis? Which research method will you choose? How will you collect the data? How might you analyze and share the results?
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 25
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. One of the most commonly used methods of sociological research are surveys The researcher: Must make sure that the sample is random and representative of the population Must make sure that the questions (open ended or closed ended) are neutral Must establish rapport with the interviewees (face to face) Participant Observation The researcher observes individuals and they are aware of the researcher’s presence Unobtrusive Observation The researcher observes individuals without the knowledge of the researcher’s presence 26 SurveysSurveys
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. When the researcher gathers information from secondary sources it is referred to as secondary analysis. Secondary sources include: newspapers, historical documents, police reports, and other data collected by various societal agencies.Experiments Experiments are not commonly used in Sociological research, but they can be a valuable source of information. The basic experiment involves: The experimental group—those exposed to the independent variable (something that causes a change) The control group—those not exposed to the independent variable. 27 Secondary Analysis
The Sociological Perspective Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The researcher : Must be open and honest with research subjects Must remain free of personal biases Protecting Subjects - Brajuha Research Misleading Subjects - Humphreys Research 28 Ethics in Sociological Research
The Sociological Perspective How might your own values and social location impact the way you view the world? For example, do you think this photo from Holy Week in Spain would be interpreted differently by Spaniards than by Americans? James M. Henslin