Sociological Perspective, Theory and Methods 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 behavior 2. You get an impression if the evaluation is positive or negative 3. 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