Chapter One: The Sociological Perspective

 The scientific study of society and human behavior. The science of describing social relationships. It is complex and vast in scope.

 What is?  How are things connected?  Why are they connected in this way?

 Term to describe how involved the quality and quantity of relationships an individual has.

 The study of the larger world and our society’s place in it.

 Term used to describe the state of being/ feeling like “an outsider” – not part of the dominant group on a daily basis.  The greater people’s social marginality, the better able they are to use the sociological perspective.

A statement of how and why specific facts are related.

A basic image of society that guides your thinking and research.

A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity & stability. “the glass is half full”

Any stable pattern of social behavior

The consequences (results) of a social pattern for the operation of society as a whole.

The undesirable consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society.

Recognized AND intended consequences. Example: school => learning to read

Consequences that are largely unrecognized and unintended Example: School => day care

 A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change  The glass is half empty….

Macro-level orientation: Looking at/ a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole.

 Micro-level orientation:  A close-up focus on social interactions in specific situations.

A framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interaction of individuals… “face to face approach”