1. So, What IS Sociology???

2. The following information can be found in the text, Sociology and You, and is for use in Mrs. Gabriel’s Sociology class.

3. Sociology is only one of a number of the Social Sciences.
Anthropology
History
Economics
Sociology is only one of a number of the Social Sciences.
Social Science is a branch of learning that deals with human society.
Psychology
Political Science

4. Sociology is the scientific study of social structure
In other words, Sociology is figuring out why groups of people do what they do.

5. Hey!!! Isn't that
Psychology ???
I took Mrs. Zehner's Psychology class last year and we learned that psychology is the study of why people do what they do!!!

6. You are kind of right.
Psychology is the science of behavior and mental process. However psychologists may study the individual. Why YOU do what you do.
Sociologists NEVER focus on the individual. The sociological perspective (its point of view) always remains at the social or group level.

7. Sociology studies the group
Psychology studies the individual

8. 2. Homelessness is the result of _________________.
1. Someone who can't find a job is _____________________.
2. Homelessness is the result of _________________.
3. Immigrants come here because of ________________________.

9. Personal
Societal

10. Though Sociologists as caring professionals are interested in individual causes and explanations, they are more concerned with explaining behaviors in terms of societal causes

11. It is the patterned interaction of people in social relationships what sociologists call social structure that captures the attention of sociologists
So, how do group behavior and individual behavior differ?
Sociologists assume that social relationships are not determined by the particular characteristics of the individuals involved.

12. More women divorce because of the social trend toward sexual equality.
Sociologist attempt to explain events without relying on personals factors. They look at social rather than personal explanations when they examine delinquency, divorce, or suicide.
They might explain the events in the following way:
Young men join gangs because they have been taught by their society to be "masculine."
More women divorce because of the social trend toward sexual equality.
Teens commit suicide because of peer group expectations of performance, material possessions, and physical appearance.

13. Why do people conform?
Regardless of size, all groups encourage conformity. Conformity within a group occurs, in part, because members have been taught to value the group's ways. Members generally tend to conform even when their personal preferences are not the same as the group's

14. The sociological perspective allows us to develop a sociological imagination. That is, knowing how social forces affect our lives can prevent us from being prisoners of those forces.
C. Wright Mills, and American sociologist called this personal use of sociology the sociological imagination - the ability of individuals to see the relationship between events in their personal lives and events in their society.

15. The Origins of Sociology

16. The "Father of Sociology"
Auguste Comte
The "Father of Sociology"
Coined the phrase "sociology" to describe this science
Wanted to use scientific observation in the study of social behavior. He called this positivism.
Distinguished between social statics, the study of social stability and order, and social dynamics, the study of social change (ex Industrial Revolution causing people to move farms to cities).

17. Best known for her translation of Comte's work
Harriet Marineau
Best known for her translation of Comte's work
Established herself as a pioneering feminist theorist,
because she saw a link between slavery and
the oppression of women.

18. Herbert Spencer
Explained that, like a body, society is composed of parts working together to promote its well-being and survival.
Introduced Social Darwinism, which is a theory of social change based on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. He believed that evolutionary social change led to progress - provided people did not interfere.

19. Karl Marx
Felt great concern for the poverty and inequality suffered by the working class of the capitalist system of his day
Believed that the key to unfolding history was class conflict which is a clash between the bourgeoisie (those who controlled the means for producing wealth) and the proletariat (those who labored for the bourgeoisie). He felt that workers would eventually overthrow the capitalists just as slaves overthrew their owners.
Out of this class conflict would come a classless (communistic) society-one where there would be no powerless proletariat.

20. Emile Durkheim argued that we do not attempt to explain bronze in terms of its separate parts (lead, copper, and tin). Instead we consider it a totally new metal created by the combination of several other metals.
Indeed, people's behavior within a group cannot be predicted from their personal characteristics. Something new is created when individuals come together.
Durkheim believed that industrial societies are based on organic solidarity, which is social unity based on highly specialized roles.
In preindustrial times, societies were based on mechanical solidarity. With these societies, there was widespread consensus of values and beliefs, strong social pressures for conformity, and dependence on tradition and family.
Emile Durkheim

21. Max Weber
Had the single most important influence on the development of sociological theory.
Believed human beings acted on the basis of their own understanding of a situation.
Believed the best method for understanding the personal meaning behind a situation, was accomplished through the method of versthen - understanding the social behavior of others by putting yourself mentally in their shoes.
Identified rationalization (the mind-set emphasizing knowledge, reason, and planning) as a key influence in the change from a preindustrial to an industrial society.

22. The best known of the early women social reformers in the United States was Jane Addams.
Addams focused on the problems caused by the imbalance of power among the social classes, and was concerned about the exploitation of the lower class.

23. Theoretical Perspectives

24. Perception is the way the brain interprets an image or event
Perception is the way the brain interprets an image or event. Similarly, perspective is the way you interpret the meaning of an image or event.

26. A theoretical perspective is a set of assumptions about an area of study in this case, about the workings of society.
A theoretical perspective is viewed as true by its supporters and it helps them organize their research.
Competing, even conflicting, theories in science usually exist a the same time.

27. Sociology has three overarching theoretical perspectives:
Functionalism
Conflict theory &
Symbolic interactionism

28. Functionalism
Emphasizes the contributions (functions) of each part of society. For example, family, economy, and religion are "parts" of a society.
Functionalists see the parts of society as an integrated whole. A change in one part of a society leads to changes in other parts.
Functionalism assumes that societies tend to return to a state of stability after some upheaval has occurred.

29. Do all functions have a positive effect?
According to Robert Merton, there are two kinds of functions
Manifest functions - those intended and recognized
&
Latent functions - those which are unintended and unrecognized
A manifest function of school is to teach math. A latent (and positive) function of school is the development of close friends.
Not all elements of a society make a positive contribution. Elements that have negative consequences result in dysfunction.

30. Conflict Perspective
Conflict Perspective emphasizes conflict, competition, change, and constraint within a society (Giddens). The distribution of power is important in the conflict perspective. Conflict Perspective assumptions are the reverse of the Functional Perspective assumptions.
Supporters of the conflict perspective see social living as a contest of Who gets What.

31. Symbolic Interactionism
Developed by Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead.
Claims that the group exist only because their members influence each other's behavior.

32. A symbol is something chosen to represent something else
A symbol is something chosen to represent something else. It may be an object, a word, a gesture, a facial expression, a sound. A symbol is something that is abstract. A person may wave to represent hello or goodbye.

33. According to Herbert Blumer, who coined the phrase, symbolic interactionism, there are three assumptions central to this perspective
1. We learn the meaning of a symbol from the way we see others reacting to it.
2. Once we learn the meaning of symbols, we base our behavior (interaction) on them.
3. We use the meanings of symbols to imagine how others will respond to our behavior.