1. The Sociological Point of View
Chapter 1
The Sociological Point of View

2. Examining Social Life Pages 4-8
Section 1
Examining Social Life
Pages 4-8

3. Section 1 Objectives
1. Describe what sociology is and explain what it means to have a sociological imagination.
2. Explain how sociology is similar to and different from other social sciences.

4. The Natural and Social Sciences
The broad study of science can be divided into the natural and social sciences. The natural sciences examine and analyze the natural world. These sciences include biology, chemistry, geology, and physics. The social sciences examine and analyze the social world, or the world of human beings. These sciences include anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, and sociology.

5. The Sociological Perspective
Sociology: studies human society and social behavior.
Social sciences: the disciplines that study human social behavior or institutions.
Social interaction: how people relate to one another and influence each other’s behavior. Sociologists focus on the group rather than on the individual.
Social phenomena: observable facts or events that involve human society.

6. Why study sociology?
Sociological perspective: It helps you gain a perspective on and view yourself and the world around you. Look beyond commonly held beliefs to the hidden meanings behind human actions. The sociological perspective helps you see all people are social beings. Your behavior is influenced by social factors and that you have learned your behavior from others. This allows you see beyond your own day to day life by viewing the world through others’ eyes.
It’s a scientific systematic way, rather than depending on common sense explanations.

7. The sociological perspective helps you find an acceptable balance between personal desires and demands of your social environment. If you always do what you want to do you are likely to conflict with others a great deal of the time. If on the other hand you always do what others want, you will not grow very much as an individual. Using the sociological perspective can help guide you to finding a balance.

8. Sociological Imagination
The connection between the larger world and your personal life is what sociologist C. Wright Mills called the sociological imagination. Mills described the sociological imagination as “ the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote [topics] to the most intimate features of the human self-and to see the relations between the two.”

9. Sociological Imagination Activity
Illustration that represents the larger world or society, such as the issue of drinking and driving affects society at large, affects specific groups in society,
Illustration of an image that represents an individual, such as a figure of a person or a face. How it affects you personally.

10. Sociological Specialties
Social behavior and groups can be examined from a variety of angles. As a result, many sociologists focus on a specific area of study. These specialties include topics such as adolescence, aging and the life course, crime, education, health and medicine, labor and occupations, racial and ethnic minorities, and sports.

11. The International Sociological Association
To promote and advance the knowledge of sociology worldwide, the International Sociological Association (ISA) was founded in This organization provides a network for sociologists throughout the world to share research, debate ideas, and present new findings. Journals published by the ISA include International Sociology and Current Sociology.

12. Activity Divide into small groups.
I will assign each group one of the ASA publications listed in this feature.
American Sociological Review
Sociological Theory
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Teaching Sociology
Contemporary Sociology
Each group should create a handout highlighting the journal’s main features.

13. Sociology’s Place in the Social Sciences
Sociologist James M. Henslin provides an example of how each social science might study juvenile delinquency. Historians might examine juvenile delinquency during a particular place and time. Political scientists might examine how access to political power affects who joins youth gangs. Economists might study the economic costs of juvenile delinquency, and anthropologists might examine how culture contributes to youth crime. Finally, psychologists might examine the personality traits of gang members.

14. Social Science Activity
I will divide you into five groups.
You will be assigned one of the following disciplines:
A. anthropology
B. economics
C. history
D. political science
E. psychology

15. You will use library and in-class resources to research your assigned discipline and then create a poster about the discipline.
Choose a spokesperson to present your assigned discipline and explain the role of that discipline in the social sciences.
Remember sociologists borrow freely from the various social science